Crematogaster castanea

An arboreal ant, this species colonized tree wounds in a field based fire manipulation experiment in Kruger National Park (Wigley et al. 2019).

Identification
A member of the Crematogaster castanea group.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Comoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe. Malagasy Region: Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte.

Nomenclature

 * . Crematogaster castaneus Smith, F. 1858b: 136, pl. 9, fig. 2 (w.q.) Albania.
 * Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queen (numbers not stated).
 * Type-locality: Albania (in error) (no collector’s name).
 * [Note: according to Roger, 1859: 259, the correct type-locality is South Africa: Durban (“... ist nicht aus Albanien, sondern aus Port Natal”).]
 * Type-depository: BMNH.
 * Combination in C. (Crematogaster): Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 830;
 * combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 145; Santschi, 1926b: 213;
 * combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
 * Synonym of tricolor: Mayr, 1907b: 16.
 * [Note: Mayr gives tricolor as senior synonym, but castanea has priority.]
 * Subspecies of tricolor: Forel, 1907g: 80; Forel, 1911f: 279; Santschi, 1913a: 412 (in key); Santschi, 1914e: 22.
 * Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 404; Roger, 1863b: 37; Emery, 1877b: 379; Emery, 1881b: 535; Dalla Torre, 1893: 80; Forel, 1894b: 99; Emery, 1915g: 12; Santschi, 1916b: 502; Arnold, 1920a: 488; Santschi, 1920d: 378; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 152, 830, 1022; Emery, 1922e: 145; Santschi, 1926b: 213; Santschi, 1930b: 68; Weber, 1943c: 308; Bolton, 1995b: 150; Hita Garcia, et al. 2013: 210.
 * Senior synonym of decolor: Forel, 1907g: 80; Emery, 1922e: 145; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1022; Bolton, 1995b: 150.
 * Distribution: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus adusta, analis, aquila, arborea, bruta, busschodtsi, durbanensis, ferruginea, hararica, insidiosa, inversa, mediorufa, museisapientiae, rufimembrum, rufonigra, simia, ulugurensis, yambatensis.
 * decolor. Crematogaster tricolor var. decolor Forel, 1891b: 188 (w.) MADAGASCAR.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-localities: Madagascar: (no further data) (Humblot), Madagscar: (no further data) (Grandidier), Madagascar: Vohémar (C. Keller), Madagascar: Tamatave (C. Keller), Madagascara: Morondava (Grevé).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Subspecies of tricolor: Dalla Torre, 1893: 87.
 * Junior synonym of castanea: Forel, 1907g: 80; Emery, 1922e: 145; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1022; Bolton, 1995b: 151.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Arnold G. 1920. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part IV. Myrmicinae. Annals of the South African Museum. 14: 403-578.
 * Blaimer B. B. 2012. Acrobat ants go global  Origin, evolution and systematics of the genus Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 65: 421-436.
 * Emery, C.. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte prima. Formiche provenienti dal Viaggio dei signori Antinori, Beccari e Issel nel Mar Rosso e nel paese dei Bogos. [concl.]." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 9 (1877): 363-381.
 * Emery, C.. "Viaggio ad Assab nel Mar Rosso dei Signori G. Doria ed O. Beccari con il R. Avviso "Esploratore" dal 16 novembre 1879 al 26 febbraio 1880. I. Formiche." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 16 (1881): 525-535.
 * Fisher B. L. 2003. Formicidae, ants. Pp. 811-819 in: Goodman, S. M.; Benstead, J. P. (eds.) 2003. The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, xxi + 1709 pp.
 * Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 2013.The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History, 101(2): 127-222
 * Majer J. D. 1976. The ant mosaic in Ghana cocoa farms: further structural considerations. Journal of Applied Ecology 13: 145-155.
 * Majer J. D. 1976. The influence of ants and ant manipulation on the cocoa farm fauna. The journal of Applied Ecology 13(1): 157-175.
 * Medler J. T. 1980: Insects of Nigeria - Check list and bibliography. Mem. Amer. Ent. Inst. 30: i-vii, 1-919.
 * Prins A. J. 1964. Revised list of the ants collected in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 7: 77-93.
 * Prins A. J., and J. J. Cillie. 1968. The ants collected in the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi game reserves. The Lammergeyer 8: 40-47.
 * Santschi F. 1913. Cremastogaster du groupe tricolor-Menileki (Hym. Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 1912: 411-414.
 * Santschi F. 1926. Description de nouveaux Formicides éthiopiens (IIIme partie). Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels) 13: 207-267.
 * Soulié J., and L. D. Dicko. 1965. La répartition des genres de fourmis de la tribu des "Cremastogastrini" dans la faune éthiopienne et malgache. Hymenoptera - Formicoidea - Myrmicidae. Ann. Univ. Abidjan Sér. Sci. 1: 85-106.
 * Weber N. A. 1943. The ants of the Imatong Mountains, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 93: 263-389.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 1005-1055
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004