Odontomachus bauri

A widespread and highly variable species.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Greater Antilles, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Biology
Ehmer and Holldobler (1998) provided the following details about this species in a study from Barro Colorado Island in Panama (the text has been edited and in some case summarized):

Foraging behavior

Foragers were active at all times of the day. Odontomachus bauri is a leaf litter ant and forages individually most of the time underneath the leaf litter. It probes narrow crannies for arthropods, and also readily takes dead insects. It was repeatedly observed that individual workers appear to return to locations where they had previously found food...The foraging success of Odontomachus bauri, as determined by the proportion of workers returning with prey, is at least 28% (n=325). 41% of incoming workers were definitely unsuccessful as they entered the nest with opened mandibles, and the remaining 31% had either no prey or prey which was too small to be discerned.

O. bauri accepts a wide range of invertebrates, but forages especially frequently on other ants and termites. The termites captured were mainly workers (22 of 25 caught were workers, 3 were soldiers). The termites all belonged to the family Termitidae: most were Nasutitermes; the rest were Amitermes. The ant prey consisted mainly of sexuals. The largest prey items are most likely found dead and then carried to the nest. The successful capture of larger insects was not observed, but the detection and retrieval of dead items was repeatedly witnessed. The size distribution of the prey specimens shows that items between 3 mm and 4 mm are the most common size class and the most frequent prey items, like termites and wood lice, are soft bodied.

Foraging area and polydomy

Colonies establish foraging territories and tend to avoid conspecific territories of neighboring nests. No queens were found in 9 colonies excavated at Gigante, but all nests contained larvae and pupae. All of these nests did not extend into the soil, they consisted of gaps and cavities in leaf litter and under wood. Nests were also commonly found in the accumulated leaf litter in the tops of Elaeis palms more than 2 m tall. Five of 9 colonies in palms tops contained single queens. It seems that colonies of O. bauri are monogynous and sometimes polydomous in this habitat.

Significance of the trap-jaws

In O. bauri, the trap-jaws appear to be designed to stun or kill prey, usually small, soft-bodied insects. This is suggested by the fact that O. bauri has short, broad mandibles with blunt instead of sharp teeth (Brown, 1976). The function of the mandibles is especially evident when the ants were observed catching termites. The ants snapped at individual termites and either stunned or squashed the insects. Even though the prey was usually stunned by the first strike, often the ant administered repeated blows before carrying the prey to the nest. O. bauri never stung termite prey, as was regularly observed in Ectatomma ruidum. Use of the high speed mandible strike may also be an effective mechanism for avoiding the chemical defenses by arthropods like the termite Nasutitermes. The very high speed of closure of the mandibles, and the fast release of the reflex via range finding trigger hairs (Gronenberg et al., 1993; Gronenberg, 1995), as well as the "strike and recoil" behavior, should be very well suited to handle chemically protected prey (Brown, 1976). Indeed, Traniello (1981) found that O. bauri was the most efficient ant species tested at successfully attacking Nasutitermes soldiers, which squirt a secretion that entangles and irritates an aggressor and can physically block sensilla and spiracles (Prestwich, 1979). The presence of Nasutitermes workers among prey items retrieved by O. bauri workers in this study shows that O. bauri can exploit a food resource largely unavailable to other ants.

Oliveira and Holldobler (1989) studied details of this ant's foraging behavior and found they use visual cues, including canopy pattern, as a means of home orientation/navigating. It was also found that workers are able to transmit recruitment signals, likely via the means of chemicals and antennal contact. It appears the cues elicts more of a stimulation response rather than guiding other foragers directly to rich food finds.

Brown (1976) provided the following synopsis regarding the distribution of and variation within this species:

Odontomachus bauri is a very widespread and variable species that usually has been lumped with Odontomachus haematodus. Of many sculptural variants, we can sort out one major trend toward coarser sculpture, particularly in the striation of the petiolar node, in samples from moist forest in continental South and Central America, while samples from the llanos and semi desert areas of Venezuela, Colombia and adjacent areas tend to have finer sculpture, with the petiolar node being delicately striate or striate-reticulate. The continental wet forest populations also tend in many cases to be larger, darker, more robust, and to have a thicker, more dome-shaped petiolar node in the worker.

O. bauri extends southward through Colombia and Ecuador on both sides of the Andes, and on the Pacific side it probably reaches south as far as real lowland or foothills forest does — possibly into Peru. In western Colombia and Ecuador, it is the dominant species of the genus, and is not accompanied here by O. haematodus, but only locally by Odontomachus erythrocephalus among closely related species (haematodus group; the much smaller and more cryptic Odontomachus minutus occurs on the Pacific side in wet forest, and Odontomachus brunneus may extend here also, but these are probably not serious competitors). Even on Barro Colorado Island in the Canal Zone, O. bauri is the most commonly collected, and probably dominant, species of the genus, though 5 or 6 congeners co-occur there. The Galapagos populations, which furnished the type of bauri, probably arose from Ecuadorean propagules, perhaps transported the islands accidentally by man.

The llanos populations extend through the Orinoco Delta (where they previously were mistakenly regarded by me as intergrades between bauri and haematodus) and Trinidad (the Odontomachus sericeus of Provancher), from that island extending into the Antilles as far as Hispaniola and Jamaica, but not Cuba or the Bahamas. Formica unispinosa Fabricius, described from Guadeloupe and long regarded as a synonym of O. haematodus, may be the same as bauri. Since at least O. brunneus also is widespread in the Lesser Antilles, the identity of unispinosus remains in some doubt, and it seems best to regard it as a nomen oblitum, which it is under the Code.

Roger's variety pubescens of Odontomachus haematodus in the old sense, from La Guaira, Venezuela, is possibly another early name for bauri, here rejected for similar reasons. A vigorous search for type material of var. pubescens in MNK-Berlin and elsewhere in European museums has proven fruitless, and the name is best placed in the oblitum category.

The West Indian bauri are even more variable than the mainland populations, and they tend to be smaller and with less dome-shaped petiolar nodes; the legs are often partly or entirely reddish or yellow in color.

The Hispaniolan form, which my wife and I collected widely in the Dominican Republic, especially in the pine-covered mountains of the southwestern and central parts of the country, and which is widespread in Haiti (MCZ), approaches black in color, but has the coxae and part of the femora contrasting brownish orange. In the Samana Peninsula and some drier parts of the island, the color is lighter, especially the brown trunk, and the legs tend to be all yellow. The form from Hispaniola corresponds to Emery's var. paucidens. A dark brown, slender variant with yellowish legs, superficially very like the typical O. haematodus, inhabits Jamaica and Mona Island. From Puerto Rico the samples available vary somewhat (var. notatus) but are basically brown, usually with the trunk — or at least the propodeum — and the petiole lighter and more reddish. The legs are yellowish to dull orange, at least over the coxae and basal half of femora. Many of the lighter specimens are in old museum lots, whereas the series we took in the Dominican Republic in 1975 are all blackish, mostly with blue iridescent reflections on the mesopleura, and have the orange leg bases rather brightly contrasting, indicating that fading may be important in older preserved specimens of Antillean samples.

South of the llanos, O. bauri is widespread in the Amazon Basin and the lower eastern foothills of the Andes up to at least 1000 m in Peru. It reaches the mouth of the Amazon near Belem, in the east, and extends southward through the forests of northern Mato Grosso and beyond into more open country. In most of Amazonia, it is less common than O. haematodus. The southern limits of O. bauri are not well known, due to its previous confusion with other species, but it has been collected at several localities in western Sao Paulo State by Karol Lenko, including Ilha Solteira in the Rio Parana. The MCZ has a sample taken at Buriti, near Cuiaba in central Mato Grosso (R. Duffield leg.), and an alate queen from Quincemil (750 m) in SE Peru. I regard it as certain that O. bauri extends well into Bolivia, but I have seen no specimens from that country yet. It also is found in dry northeastern Brasil, in Ceara and Paraiba.

Although bauri is common in Panama and around the Oolfo Dulce in SW Costa Rica, it is less common in northern Costa Rica. I took an alate queen near Ouapiles, in northern Limon Province, so the species may well reach into the Nicaraguan lowlands, but I have seen no specimens of bauri from Nicaragua or countries to the north, where Odontomachus laticeps prevails.

Nomenclature

 * . Odontomachus bauri Emery, 1892d: 561 (diagnosis in key) (w.) ECUADOR (Galapagos Is).
 * Type-material: holotype worker.
 * Type-locality: Ecuador: Galapagos Is, Chatham, “among tortoise carapaces originating from Albemarle” (Baur).
 * [Note: details of locality data from Emery, 1893d: 90.]
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * [Also described as new in Emery, 1893d: 90.]
 * Wheeler, W.M. 1919c: 267 (q.m.).
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Emery, 1911d: 115; Wheeler, W.M. 1919c: 266; Wheeler, W.M. 1933a: 58; Wheeler, W.M. 1935g: 16; Kempf, 1972a: 171.
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 49; Emery, 1893d: 90; Taylor & Wilson, 1962: 142; Linsley & Usinger, 1966: 174; Brown, 1976a: 102, 129; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295; Wild, 2007b: 39; Rodriguez, J. 2008: 155; Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 262; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 124; Feitosa, 2015c: 99; Wetterer, et al. 2016: 13; Fernández & Guerrero, 2019: 538; Lubertazzi, 2019: 137.
 * Senior synonym of microcephalus: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Senior synonym of notata: Brown, 1976a: 103; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Senior synonym of paucidens: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Senior synonym of pubescens: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Senior synonym of rugisquama: Brown, 1976a: 103; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Senior synonym of sericeus: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 295.
 * Distribution: Barbados, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador (+ Galapagos Is), Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Venezuela.
 * microcephalus. Odontomachus haematodes var. microcephalus Emery, 1890b: 45, pl. 5, fig. 1 (w.) COSTA RICA.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Costa Rica: Alajuela, 1889 (A. Alfaro).
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * [Also described as new by Emery, 1894k: 50.]
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1894k: 50.
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 51.
 * Junior synonym of haematodus: Forel, 1899c: 20; Emery, 1911d: 114; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 795; Borgmeier, 1923: 78; Kempf, 1972a: 170.
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 296.
 * notata. Odontomachus haematoda var. notata Mann, 1920: 404 (w.) PUERTO RICO.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Puerto Rico: Monte Mandias.
 * Type-depository: MCZC.
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Smith, M.R. 1937: 828; Kempf, 1972a: 170.
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 296.
 * paucidens. Odontomachus haematodus var. paucidens Emery, 1893d: 91 (footnote) (w.) HAITI.
 * Type-material: holotype(?) worker.
 * [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
 * Type-locality: Haiti (no further data).
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * Menozzi & Russo, 1930: 151 (m.).
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Forel, 1907e: 1; Emery, 1911d: 115; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1914: 17; Menozzi & Russo, 1930: 151; Wheeler, W.M. 1936b: 196; Kempf, 1972a: 171.
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 296.
 * pubescens. Odontomachus haematodus var. pubescens Roger, 1861a: 25 (in text) (w.) VENEZUELA.
 * Type-material: holotype(?) worker.
 * [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
 * Type-locality: Venzuela: Vargas State, Laguayra (= La Guaira) (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depository: MNHU.
 * Forel, 1909a: 252 (q.).
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 52; Forel, 1895b: 118.
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Emery, 1890b: 44 (footnote); Emery, in Dalla Torre, 1893: 50 (footnote), 52; Emery, 1894c: 146; Forel, 1899c: 21; Forel, 1905b: 156; Forel, 1908c: 340; Forel, 1908e: 64; Forel, 1909a: 252; Emery, 1911d: 115; Mann, 1916: 419; Borgmeier, 1923: 79; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 10; Eidmann, 1936: 37; Kempf, 1972a: 171.
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 297.
 * rugisquama. Odontomachus haematodes var. rugisquama Forel, 1908b: 35 (w.) COSTA RICA.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-localities: Costa Rica: La Caja, nr San José, 1100 m. (P. Biolley), and Santa Clara (P. Biolley).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Forel, 1912c: 28 (q.).
 * Subspecies of haematodus: Emery, 1911d: 115; Forel, 1912c: 28; Forel, 1914e: 9; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 10; Kempf, 1972a: 171.
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 297.
 * sericeus. Odontomachus sericeus Provancher, 1895: 97 (q.) TRINIDAD.
 * Type-material: holotype queen.
 * Type-locality: Trinidad: (no further data) (Provancher?).
 * Type-depository: originally in Musée du Parlement, Québec, Canada.
 * [Note: this species is not mentioned in Francoeur & Béique, 1966: 140; its present depository is unknown.]
 * Junior synonym of bauri: Brown, 1976a: 102; Brandão, 1991: 363; Bolton, 1995b: 297.

Wheeler (1919)

Description
Worker. Length 9-11 mm.

Differing from the worker of the typical form in having the head proportionally narrower behind, slightly narrower mandibles, with longer preapical tooth, the smooth, shining portion of the occiput extending somewhat further forward and that of the sides of the head further dorsally. The longitudinal striae of the pronotum and transverse striae of the epinotum are somewhat coarser and the anterior surface of the petiole is rather coarsely, transversely striate. The pilosity, pubescence and color are much as in the typical haematoda, but the body has a somewhat bronzy lustre and the antennae and legs are darker.

Queen
Length 10-11 mm.

Very similar to the worker and differing from the female of the typical haematoda in the same characters. The wings measure only 7 mm, or somewhat less, however, whereas those of the typical haematoda measure at least 8 mm.

Male
Length 6 mm.

Closely resembling the male of the typical haematoda, except in color. The head, thorax, legs and antennae are whitish yellow, with the epinotum, petiole and dorsal surface of the gaster dark brown, the venter brownish yellow. The mesonotum has a dark brown longitudinal spot on each side and a slightly paler median spot of the same color just behind its anterior border. Wings whitish, with pale brown stigma.

This form, which is extremely close to the typical haematoda, so widely distributed in the tropics of both hemispheres, was described by Emery from a single worker taken by Dr. G. Haur on Chatham Island. I have redescribcd it from a number of workers and females and a single male taken by Dr. F. X. Williams on the same island and at Cormorant Bay, Charles Island. The specimens were nesting under stones from sea-level to an altitude of 1100 feet.

Larva
Described by Fox et al. (2017).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Achury R., and A.V. Suarez. 2017. Richness and composition of ground-dwelling ants in tropical rainforest and surrounding landscapes in the Colombian Inter-Andean valley. Neotropical Entomology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0565-4
 * Adams B. J., S. A. Schnitzer, and S. P. Yanoviak. 2016. Trees as islands: canopy ant species richness increases with the size of liana-free trees in a Neotropical forest. Ecography doi: 10.1111/ecog.02608
 * Adams B. J., S. A. Schnitzer, and S. P. Yanoviak. 2019. Connectivity explains local ant community structure in a Neotropical forest canopy: a large-scale experimental approach. Ecology 100(6): e02673.
 * Alonso L. E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams. 2016. Biodiversity assessment survey of the south Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No.1, 306 pages.
 * Antoniazzi R., R. N. S. L. Garoo, W. Dattilo, S. P. Ribeiro, and F. S. Neves. 2019. Ant species richness and interactions in canopies of two distinct successional stages in a tropical dry forest. The Science of Nature 106: 20
 * Armbrecht I., E. Jimenez, G. Alvarez, P. Ulloa-Chacon, and H. Armbrecht. 2001. An ant mosaic in the Colombian rain forest of Choco (Hymenoptera: formicidae0. Sociobiology 37(3B): 491-509.
 * Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
 * Battirola, L.E., M.I. Marques, J. Adis and J.H.C. Delabie. 2005. Composicao da comunidade de Formicidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) em copas de Attalea phalerata Mart. Composic?a?o da comunidade de Formicidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) em copas de Attalea phalerata Mart. (Arecaceae), no Pantanal de Pocone?, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 49(1): 107-117.
 * Boer P. 2019. Ants of Curacao, species list. Accessed on January 22 2019 at http://www.nlmieren.nl/websitepages/SPECIES%20LIST%20CURACAO.html
 * Boer P. 2019. Ants of Saba, species list. Accessed on January 22 2019 at http://www.nlmieren.nl/websitepages/SPECIES%20LIST%20SABA.html
 * Borgmeier T. 1923. Catalogo systematico e synonymico das formigas do Brasil. 1 parte. Subfam. Dorylinae, Cerapachyinae, Ponerinae, Dolichoderinae. Archivos do Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro) 24: 33-103.
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Branstetter M. G. and L. Sáenz. 2012. Las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Guatemala. Pp. 221-268 in: Cano E. B. and J. C. Schuster. (eds.) 2012. Biodiversidad de Guatemala. Volumen 2. Guatemala: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, iv + 328 pp
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1976. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section A. Introduction, subtribal characters. Genus Odontomachus. Stud. Entomol. 19: 67-171.
 * Bustos H., J. 1994. Contribucion al conocimiento de al fauna de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del occidente del Departamento de Narino (Colombia). Bol. Mus. Ent. Univ. Valle 2(1,2):19-30
 * Carlin, N.F. and D.S. Gladstein. 1989. The "Bouncer" defense of Odontomachus ruginodus and other odontomachine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 96(1-2):1-19
 * Chacon de Ulloa P., A. M. Osorio-Garica, R. Achury, and C. Bermudez-Rivas. 2012. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Bosque seco tropical (Bs-T) de la cuenca alta del rio Cauca, Colombia. Biota Colombiana 13(2): 165-181.
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Dekoninck W., F. Fernandez, H. W. Herrera, N. Wauters, G. Brito, L. Jumbo, D. Marin-Armijos, and T. Delsinne. 2014. Results of ant collections on Santa Cruz Island within the framework of the 2012 Global Taxonomy Initiative Ant Course at Galápagos (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société royale belge d’Entomologie 150: 250-255.
 * Dominguez D. F., M. Bustamante, R. Albuja, A. Castro, J. E. Lattke, and D. A. Donoso. 2016. Codigos de barras (COI barcodes) para hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de los bosques secos del sur del Ecuador. Ecosistemas 25(2): 76-78.
 * Emery C. 1892. Voyage de M. Ch. Alluaud dans le territoire d'Assinie (Afrique occidentale) en juillet et août 1886. Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 60: 553-574.
 * Emery C. 1893. Notice sur quelques fourmis des îles Galapagos. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 62: 89-92.
 * Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
 * Escalante Gutiérrez J. A. 1993. Especies de hormigas conocidas del Perú (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista Peruana de Entomología 34:1-13.
 * Fernandes I., and J. de Souza. 2018. Dataset of long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the influence areas of a hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24375.
 * Fernandez F. C., and L. Schneider S. 1989. Reconocimiento de hormigas en la reserva La Macarena. Revista Colombiana de Entomologia 15(1): 38-44.
 * Fernández F. 2008. Subfamilia Ponerinae s.str. Pp. 123-218 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Fernández F., E. E. Palacio, W. P. Mackay, and E. S. MacKay. 1996. Introducción al estudio de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Colombia. Pp. 349-412 in: Andrade M. G., G. Amat García, and F. Fernández. (eds.) 1996. Insectos de Colombia. Estudios escogidos. Bogotá: Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 541 pp
 * Fernández F., and T. M. Arias-Penna. 2008. Las hormigas cazadoras en la región Neotropical. Pp. 3-39 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Field Museum Collection, Chicago, Illinois (C. Moreau)
 * Forel A. 1907. Formiciden aus dem Naturhistorischen Museum in Hamburg. II. Teil. Neueingänge seit 1900. Mitt. Naturhist. Mus. Hambg. 24: 1-20.
 * Forel A. 1908. Ameisen aus Sao Paulo (Brasilien), Paraguay etc. gesammelt von Prof. Herm. v. Ihering, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Fiebrig, etc. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 58: 340-418.
 * Forel A. 1908. Catálogo systemático da collecção de formigas do Ceará. Boletim do Museu Rocha 1(1): 62-69.
 * Forel A. 1909. Ameisen aus Guatemala usw., Paraguay und Argentinien (Hym.). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1909: 239-269.
 * Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
 * Galkowski C. 2016. New data on the ants from the Guadeloupe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 151, 44(1): 25-36.
 * Garcia Cardenas R., G. A. Zabala, and J. E. Botero. 2008. Hormigas cazadoras (Formicidae: grupos Poneroide y Ectatomminoide) en paisajes cafeteros de Colombia. Pp. 461-478. In Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Goitia W., and K. Jaffe. 2009. Ant-Plant Associations in Different Forests in Venezuela. Neotropical Entomology 38(1): 007-031.
 * Hahn, D.A. and D.E. Wheeler. 2002. Seasonal Foraging Activity and Bait Preferences of Ants on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Biotropica 34(3):348-356
 * Herrera H. W. 2013. CDF Checklist of Galapagos Ants - FCD Lista de especies de Hormigas Galápagos. In: Bungartz, F., Herrera, H., Jaramillo, P., Tirado, N., Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G., Ruiz, D., Guézou, A. & Ziemmeck, F. (eds.). Charles Darwin Foundation Galapagos Species Checklist - Lista de Especies de Galápagos de la Fundación Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin Foundation / Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos: http://checklists.datazone.darwinfoundation.org/terrestrial-invertebrates/formicidae/ Last updated: 01 Mar 2013
 * Herrera H.W., and L. Roque-Albelo. 2007. Lista anotada de las hormigas de las Islas Galapagos, Ecuador. Fundación Charles Darwin. 13 pp
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Jaffe, K., Mauleon, H. and Kermarrec A. 1990. Predatory Ants of Diaprepes Abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Citrus Groves In Martinique and Guadeloupe, F.W.I. Florida Entomologist. 73(4):684-687.
 * Jaffe, Klaus and Lattke, John. 1994. Ant Fauna of the French and Venezuelan Islands in the Caribbean in Exotic Ants, editor D.F. Williams. 182-190.
 * Kaspari M., D. Donoso, J. A. Lucas, T. Zumbusch, and A. D. Kay. 2012. Using nutritional ecology to predict community structure: a field test in Neotropical ants. Ecosphere 3(11): art.93.
 * Kempf W. W. 1978. A preliminary zoogeographical analysis of a regional ant fauna in Latin America. 114. Studia Entomologica 20: 43-62.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Kusnezov N. 1963. Zoogeografia de las hormigas en sudamerica. Acta Zoologica Lilloana 19: 25-188
 * Lattke J. E., and M. Velez, and N. Aguirre. 2016. Survey of ants in dry forests of Southwestern Ecuador (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 63(3): 909-918.
 * Linsley E. G., and R. L. Usinger. 1966. Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. (4) 33: 113-196.
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
 * Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Lozano-Zambrano F. H., E. Jimenez, T. M. Arias-Penna, A. M. Arcila, J. Rodriguez, and D. P. Ramirez. 2008. Biogeografía de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Pp. 349-406. in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Mann W. M. 1916. The Stanford Expedition to Brazil, 1911, John C. Branner, Director. The ants of Brazil. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 399-490
 * Mann W. M. 1920. Additions to the ant fauna of the West Indies and Central America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 42: 403-439.
 * Marinho C. G. S., R. Zanetti, J. H. C. Delabie, M. N. Schlindwein, and L. de S. Ramos. 2002. Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Diversity in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) Plantations and Cerrado Litter in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 31(2): 187-195.
 * Menozzi C, Russo G. 1930. Contributo alla conoscenza della mirmecofauna della Repubblica Dominicana (Antille). Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici. 24: 148-173.
 * Morales-Castaño I. T., and C. A. Medina. 2009. Insectos de la Orinoquia colombiana: evaluación a partir de la Colección Entomológica del Instituto Alexander von Humboldt (IAvH). Biota Colombiana 10 (1-2): 31 -53.
 * Neves F. S., R. F. Braga, M. M. do Espirito-Santo, J. H. C. Delabie, G. Wilson Fernandes, and G. A. Sanchez-Azofeifa. 2010. Diversity of Arboreal Ants In a Brazilian Tropical Dry Forest: Effects Of Seasonality and Successional Stage. Sociobiology 56(1): 1-18.
 * Nunes F. A., G. B. Martins Segundo, Y. B. Vasconcelos, R. Azevedo, and Y. Quinet. 2011. Ground-foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and rainfall effect on pitfall trapping in a deciduous thorn  woodland (Caatinga), Northeastern Brazil. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (4): 1637-1650.
 * Oliveira P. S., and B. Hölldobler. 1989. Orientation and communication in the Neotropical ant Odontomachus bauri Emery (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Ponerinae). Ethology. 83: 154-166.
 * Oliveira-Santos L. G. R., R. D. Loyola, A. B. Vargas. 2009. Canopy Traps: a Technique for Sampling Arboreal Ants in Forest Vertical Strata. Neotropical Entomology 38(5):691-694.
 * Pereira J. C., J. H. C. Delabie, L. R. S. Zanette, and Y. Quinet. 2014. Studies on an Enigmatic Blepharidatta Wheeler Population (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Brazilian Caatinga. Sociobiology 61(1): 52-59.
 * Perez-Gelabert D. E. 2008. Arthropods of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti): A checklist and bibliography. Zootaxa 1831:1-530.
 * Perez-Sanchez A. J., J. E. Lattke, and A. L. Viloria. 2012. Patterns of Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Richness and Relative Abundance along an Aridity Gradient in Western Venezuela. Neotrop Entomol DOI 10.1007/s13744-012-0096-y
 * Pezzatti, Boris, Irzan, Trimurti and Cherix, Daniel. 1998. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Floreana: Lost Paradise?. Noticias de Galapagos. 59:11-20.
 * Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
 * Queiroz Haddad G., F. Jorge Cividanes,  I. C. Fernandes Martins,  L. R. Batista Correa. 2012. Population Fluctuations of Formicidae (Hymenoptera) and Araneae (Arachnida) in Two Tillage Systems in the Region of Guaíra-Sp. Florida Entomologist 95(4): 1012-1018.
 * Ramos L. de S., C. G. S. Marinho, R. Zanetti, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2003. Impacto de iscas formicidas granuladas sobre a mirmecofauna não-alvo em eucaliptais segundo duas formas de aplicacação / Impact of formicid granulated baits on non-target ants in eucalyptus plantations according to two forms of application. Neotropical Entomology 32(2): 231-237.
 * Ramos L. de S., R. Zanetti, C. G. S. Marinho, J. H. C. Delabie, M. N. Schlindwein, and R. P. Almado. 2004. Impact of mechanical and chemical weedings of Eucalyptus grandis undergrowth on an ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Árvore 28(1): 139-146.
 * Riera-Valera M. A., A. J. Pérez-Sánchez, and J. Perozo. 2009. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and termites (Termitidae: Isoptera), Moron River basin, Carabobo, Venezuela: Preliminary data. Checklist, Campinas 5(4): 855-859.
 * Salinas P. J. 2010. Catalogue of the ants of the Táchira State, Venezuela, with notes on their biodiversity, biogeography and ecology (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyioponinae, Ponerinae, Proceratiinae, Myrmicinae, Ecitoninae, Formicinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, Dolichoderinae). Boletín de la SEA 47: 315-328.
 * Silva F. H. O., J. H. C. Delabie, G. B. dos Santos, E. Meurer, and M. I. Marques. 2013. Mini-Winkler Extractor and Pitfall Trap as Complementary Methods to Sample Formicidae. Neotrop Entomol 42: 351358.
 * Silvestre R., C. R. F. Brandão, and R. R. Silva da 2003. Grupos funcionales de hormigas: el caso de los gremios del cerrado. Pp. 113-148 in: Fernández, F. (ed.) 2003. Introducción a las hormigas de la región Neotropical. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xxvi + 424 pp.
 * Silvestre R., M. F. Demetrio, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2012. Community Structure of Leaf-Litter Ants in a Neotropical Dry Forest: A Biogeographic Approach to Explain Betadiversity. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/306925
 * Smith M. A., W. Hallwachs, D. H. Janzen. 2014. Diversity and phylogenetic community structure of ants along a Costa Rican elevational gradient. Ecography 37(8): 720-731.
 * Smith M. R. 1937. The ants of Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 20: 819-875.
 * Soares N. S., L. de O. Almeida, C. A. Goncalves, M. T. Marcolino, and A. M. Bonetii. 2006. Survey of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Urban Area of Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 35(3): 324-328.
 * Soares S. A., D. Lange, and W. F. Antoniali Junior. 2006. Communities of Epigaeic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an area of reforestation and in native forest. Sociobiology 49(3): 251-263.
 * Soares S. A., W. F. Antoniali Junior, and S. E. Lima-Junior. 2010. Diversidade de formigas epigéicas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) em dois ambientes no Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 54(1): 7681.
 * Tavares A. A., P. C. Bispo, and A. C. Zanzini. 2008. Effect of Collect Time on Communities of Epigaeic Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Areas of Eucalyptus cloeziana and Cerrado. Neotropical Entomology 37(2): 126-130.
 * Ulloa Chacon P., M. L. Baena, J. Bustos, R. C. Aldana, J. A. Aldana, and M. A. Gamboa. 1996. Fauna de hormigas del departamento del Valle del Cauca (Colombia). Pp. 413-451. In Andrade-C M. G., G. Amat Garcia, and F. Fernandez. Insectoss de Colombia, estudios escogidos.
 * Ulyssea M. A., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217224.
 * Ulysséa M. A., C. R. F. Brandão. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217-224.
 * Valdes-Rodriguez S., P. Chacon de Ulloa, and I. Armbrecht. 2014. Soil ant species in Gorgona Island, Colombian Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (1): 265-276.
 * Vasconcelos, H.L., J.M.S. Vilhena, W.E. Magnusson and A.L.K.M. Albernaz. 2006. Long-term effects of forest fragmentation on Amazonian ant communities. Journal of Biogeography 33:1348-1356
 * Von Aesch, Leila. 2006. Introduced Ants in Galapagos (Floreana Island): Importance of Competition, Coexistence and Aggressive Behaviors. (Chapter 1 published: von Aech, L. and D. Cherix. 2005. Introduced ant species and mechanisms of competition on Floreana Island. Sociobiology 45(2): 463-481.)
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Wauters N., W. Dekoninck, F. Hendrickx, H.W. Herrera, and D. Fournier. 2016. Habitat a ssociation a nd coexistence of endemic and introduced ant species in the Galápagos Islands. Ecological Entomology 41, 40–50.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1925. Neotropical ants in the collections of the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Arkiv för Zoologi 17A(8): 1-55.
 * Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1914. The ants of Haiti. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 33: 1-61.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1933. Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition. California Academy of Sciences. 21(6):57-64.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1936. Ants From Hispaniola and Mona Island. Bulletin: Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 80(2):192-211.
 * da Silva Araujo, M., Castro Della Lucia, T.M., DA VEIGA, Clayton E y CARDOSO DO NASCIMENTO, Ivan. 2004. Efeito da queima da palhada de cana-de-açúcar sobre comunidade de formicídeos. Ecol. austral. 14(2): 191-200.
 * da Silva, R.R., C.R.F. Brandao, and R. Silvestre. 2004. Similarity Between Cerrado Localities in Central and Southeastern Brazil Based on the Dry Season Bait Visitors Ant Fauna. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 39(3):191-199.
 * de Almeida Soares S., Y. R. Suarez, W. D. Fernandes, P. M. Soares Tenorio, J. H. C. Delabie, and W. F. Antonialli-Junior. 2013. Temporal variation in the composition of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on trees in the Pantanal floodplain, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Rev. Bras. entomol. 57: 84-90
 * do Nascimento, I.C. 2006. Fenologia dos Voos de Acasalamento em Formigas Tropicais