Camponotus bidens

A few specimens of this small, timid ant were taken on a Triplaris with Crematogaster in March. C. bidens and its congeners are known to nest in hollow, dead twigs of a variety of trees (Wheeler and Darlington 1930). I have taken numerous colonies of this species from dead twigs in the following localities in Panama: Frijoles, Corozal, Red Tank, Gatuncillo, Mandingo, Mt. Hope and Barro Colorado Island (Wheeler 1934).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.

Nomenclature

 *  bidens. Camponotus bidens Mayr, 1870a: 387 (w.) COLOMBIA. Forel, 1899c: 145 (footnote) (s.); Wheeler, W.M. 1934g: 225 (q.). Combination in C. (Myrmeurynota): Forel, 1912i: 92; in C. (Myrmorhachis): Forel, 1914a: 274; in C. (Myrmocladoecus): Emery, 1925b: 166; Wheeler, W.M. 1934e: 424. Current subspecies: nominal plus repressus.

Queen
Wheeler (1934) - Dealated, measures nearly 7 mm and is long and slender. Head slightly longer than broad, subtrapezoidal, nearly as wide in front as behind, with straight sides and distinctly convex posterior border. Eyes large, moderately convex, distant nearly one and one-half times their length from the anterior corners of the head. Mandibles convex, 6-toothed. Clypeus very convex and rounded in the middle, depressed on the sides, its anterior border sinuate medially and on each side. Antennal scapes extending nearly twice their greatest diameter beyond the posterior border of the head. Thorax elongate-elliptical, more than twice as long as broad, narrower than the head; mesonotum longer than broad; epinotum with very convex, backwardly sloping base, forming a distinct angle in profile with the longer, perpendicular, slightly concave declivity. Petiolar scale thick, transverse, broader than the posterior part of the epinotum, with very blunt, rounded superior border and convex anterior and posterior surfaces. Gaster elongate-elliptical, parallel-sided in the middle, as long as the remainder of the body.

Subopaque, finely and indistinctly shagreened; scutellum, epinotum, petiole and bases of gastric segments more shining; mandibles, cheeks and clypeus punctate; mesonotum with a few coarse punctures along the parapsidal furrows. Hairs whitish, short, erect and rather sparse, confined to the head, thorax, abdomen, tips of scapes and femora. Pubescence short, dilute and appressed, distinct on the gaster and legs. Black, like the worker; mandibles, antennae, wing-insertions, trochanters, bases of tibiae and terminal tarsal joints, red.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
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 * Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, W. Duarte da Rocha, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2011. As comunidades de formigas de serapilheira nas florestas semidecíduas do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais. MG.BIOTA, Belo Horizonte 3(5): 5-24.
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 * 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
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