Camponotus chartifex

Identification
Scapes and legs with abundant erect setae; eyes strongly protruding from sides of head; propodeum, meso and metathorax highly fused, sutures very weak, forming a single unit that articulates with the prothorax; dorsal profile with dorsal and posterior faces of propodeum not differentiated; propodeum strongly laterally compressed, tectiform; back of head with small vertex collar or neck; appressed pubescence on first gastral tergite sparse.

Major worker absent.

Color variation: specimens from the Pacific side of Costa Rica have a dark head with yellow on the malar spaces and a red brown mesosoma and metasoma (upper figures above); specimens from the Atlantic side are more uniformly red brown (lower figure above). (Jack Longino)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname.

Biology
Jack Longino: Camponotus chartifex inhabits mature lowland rainforest. Workers are most often encountered as isolated foragers, day or night. Like Camponotus in general, they appear to be generalized scavengers with a predilection for sweets.

This species and its relative, Camponotus nitidior, build 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.

I have only found one nest of C. chartifex. At Tortuguero I found a nest between two leaves. The leaves were sewn flat together, with the nest sandwiched between them. The nest was roughly circular, about 4cm diameter.

Nomenclature

 *  chartifex. Formica chartifex Smith, F. 1860c: 68 (w.m.) BRAZIL. Forel, 1899c: 158 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986d: 337 (l.). Combination in Camponotus: Mayr, 1862: 673; in Dendromyrmex: Emery, 1895j: 772; in C. (Dendromyrmex): Fernández, 2002: 60. Senior synonym of melinoni: Fernández, 2002: 60.
 * melinoni. Dendromyrmex madeirensis var. melinoni Santschi, 1921g: 102 (w.) FRENCH GUIANA. Junior synonym of chartifex: Fernández, 2002: 60.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Dejean A., B. Corbara, J. Orivel, R. R. Snelling, J. H. C. Delabie, and M. Belin-Depoux. 2000. The importance of ant gardens in the pioneer vegetal formations of French Guiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 35(3): 425-439.
 * Emery C. 1890. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887 - Avril 1888). Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (6)10: 55-76.
 * 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.
 * Field Museum Collection, Chicago, Illinois (C. Moreau)
 * 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.
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Wilson, E.O. 1987. The Arboreal Ant Fauna of Peruvian Amazon Forests: A First Assessment. Biotropica 19(3):245-251.