Camponotus ionius

A common species typically found in drier areas, C. ionius has been found in a range of habitats (see distribution section below). Nests have been uncovered by turning over large stones. Workers are usually active at dawn and dusk. Major workers forage up to 10 meters away from the nest and are often collected on roads or tree trunks.

Identification
A member of the Camponotus samius species complex (Tanaemyrmex).

Salata et al. (2020) - Hind tibia and scape with decumbent to suberect pilosity but without additional erect setae; gena without numerous erect setae; mesosoma in major workers sometimes ventrolaterally paler (brown to bright brown) than black to dark brown head and gaster, in minor workers mesosoma usually slightly paler than head and gaster, with dark dorsum and brown to bright brown lateral sides; legs in minor and major workers reddish brown; gaster in major and minor workers uniformly coloured, sometimes minor with indistinctly brighter colouration on its basal part; pilosity on gaster sparse.

Distribution
This is a common species known from all Greek provinces except Crete (Borowiec et al., 2022).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Bulgaria, Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey.

Habitat
This species has been found in various types of arid habitats. Camponotus ionius has most commonly been collected from pine forests, but also observed in olive plantations, deciduous forests, and gardens in urban areas. Workers are also occasionally observed in open habitats, especially pastures with shrubs and limestone rocks or large stones. Camponotus ionius is also one of the pioneer species in burned forests.

Worker
Minor

Major

Nomenclature

 * . Camponotus (Myrmoturba) samius var. ionia Emery, 1920c: 6.
 * [First available use of Camponotus maculatus subsp. samius var. ionia Emery, 1901e: 59 (w.) GREECE; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
 * [Misspelled as jonia by Finzi, 1928c: 791; misspelled as ionicus by Petrov, 2006: 109 (in key).]
 * Santschi, 1921a: 116 (q.); Karaman, C. et al. 2011: 190 (m.).
 * Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 100.
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1905d: 36 (in text); Emery, 1908a: 193; Forel, 1911d: 360; Emery, 1914d: 159.
 * Subspecies of samius: Santschi, 1921a: 116; Emery, 1925b: 100; Finzi, 1928c: 791; Finzi, 1930d: 318; Menozzi, 1936d: 300; Finzi, 1939c: 159.
 * [Note: Santschi, 1921a: 116, has sanctus var. ionia, in error for samius var ionia.]
 * Status as species: Aktaç, 1977: 125; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 284 (in key); Collingwood, 1993b: 195; Bolton, 1995b: 105; Petrov, 2006: 109 (in key); Lapeva-Gjonova, et al. 2010: 44; Legakis, 2011: 30; Karaman, C. et al. 2011: 190; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 476; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 7; Karaman, C. & Aktaç, 2013: 53 (in key); Borowiec, L. 2014: 34; Bračko, et al. 2014: 18; Lebas, et al. 2016: 154; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 4; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 43.

Type Material
Salata et al. (2020) - Three syntype workers, Kefalonia, Greece. coll. Sangiorgi. Syntype major worker images examined, AntWeb, CASENT0905287, photos by Will Ericson.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
 * Aktaç, N.. "Studies on the myrmecofauna of Turkey I. Ants of Siirt, Bodrum and Trabzon." Istanbul Universitesi Fen Fakultesi Mecmuasi. Seri B 41 (1977): 115-135.
 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Samos Island, Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-13.
 * Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
 * Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, E. Gioahin, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2011. Contribution to the knowledge of the ant fauna of the southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Entomologica romanica 16: 54.
 * Bracko G., K. Kiran, C. Karaman, S. Salata, and L. Borowiec. 2016. Survey of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Greek Thrace. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7945. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e7945
 * Collingwood, C. A. 1993. A Comparitive Study of the Ant Fauna of Five Greek Islands. Biologia Gallo-hellenica. 20,1:191-197
 * Collingwood, C. A.. "A comparative study of the ant fauna of five Greek islands." Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 20 (1993): 191-197.
 * Czechowski W., A. Radchenko, W. Czechowska and K. Vepsäläinen. 2012. The ants of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. Fauna Poloniae 4. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 1-496 pp
 * Emery C. 1914. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Bearbeitung von O. Leonhard's Sammlungen. 5. Südeuropäische Ameisen (Hym.). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 3: 156-159.
 * Emery, C.. "Le forme paleartiche del Camponotus maculatus F." Rendiconti delle Sessioni della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna (n.s.)9 (1905): 27-44.
 * Emery, C.. "Spicilegio mirmecologico." Bollettino della Societa Entomologica Italiana 33 (1901): 57-63.
 * Forel A. 1911. Fourmis nouvelles ou intéressantes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 47: 331-400.
 * Karaman C., N. Aktac, and K. Kiran. 2009. Ants of the genus CamponotusMayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Kaz Mountains, Turkey, with descriptions of sexuals of Camponotus candiotes Emery, 1894 and Camponotus ionius Emery, 1920. Tubitak 35(2): 183-197.
 * Lapeva-Gjonova, L., V. Antonova, A. G. Radchenko, and M. Atanasova. "Catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria." ZooKeys 62 (2010): 1-124.
 * Legakis A. 1983. The Zoological Museum of the University of Athens 2. The collection of ants from Greece. Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 11(1): 85-87.
 * Legakis Collection Database
 * Petrov I. Z., and A. Legakis. 1996. Contribution to the Myrmecofauna (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) of Greece. Archives of biological sciences, Belgrade, 48 (3-4): 31-32.
 * Salata S., and L Borowiec. 2017. Species of Tetramorium semilaeve complex from Balkans and western Turkey, with description of two new species of (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 62:279–313.
 * Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2018. Taxonomic and faunistic notes on Greek ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-51.
 * Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2019. Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys 877: 81-131.