Camponotus nitidior

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.

Biology
This species builds nests of sewn-together leaves (Wilson 1981, Fernández 2002). They use larval silk to attach leaves together and to make silk sheets and baffles. The nest walls are a combination of leaves and silk sheets. The silk sheets and baffles are a combination of silk and masticated plant fibers. (Taken from John Longino's Ants of Costa Rica http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/AntsofCostaRica.html)

Flight muscle ratio (ratio of wing muscle mass to body mass, i.e. a predictor of flight ability) for C. nitidior queens suggests that they found colonies non-claustrally (Helms & Kaspari 2015). Moreover, fat content in the abdomen was low. This strategy of independent foundation needs to be confirmed with field observations, and it would be exceptional in this genus. Non-claustral foundation is similarly predicted by the large relative size of the prothorax (see Antweb image below), which probably reflects worker-like neck muscles needed for foraging [[Media:Roberto_Keller_eLife.pdf|(Keller et al. 2014)]].

Castes
Major workers absent

Nomenclature

 *  nitidior. Dendromyrmex fabricii subsp. nitidior Santschi, 1921g: 102 (w.) PANAMA. Combination in C. (Dendromyrmex): Fernández, 2002: 71. Raised to species and senior synonym of isthmicus: Fernández, 2002: 71.
 * isthmicus. Dendromyrmex fabricii subsp. isthmicus Weber, 1943b: 76 (q.) PANAMA. Junior synonym of nitidior: Fernández, 2002: 71.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * 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.
 * 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
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Fernández F. 2002. Revisión de las hormigas Camponotus subgénero Dendromyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo). 42: 47-101.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Honduras. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-honduras
 * 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., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
 * Rocha-Ortega M., and M. E. Favila. 2013. The recovery of ground ant diversity in secondary Lacandon tropical forests. Journal of Insect Conservation 17(6): 1161-1167.
 * Ryder Wilkie K.T., A. L. Mertl, and J. F. A. Traniello. 2010. Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13146.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013146
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Weber N. A. 1943. New ants from Venezuela and neighboring countries. Bol. Entomol. Venez. 2: 67-78.
 * Weber N. A. 1944. The tree ants (Dendromyrmex) of South and Central America. Ecology 25: 117-120.