Camponotus guanchus

Nests were found in dead wood and rock crevices at the thermophile juniper forest. In December 2003, winged queens and males were present inside the nests. This Canarian species is known from the islands of Tenerife, La Palma and El Hierro. (Espadaler 2007)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Canary Islands.

Nomenclature

 * . Camponotus sicheli var. guancha Santschi, 1908: 534 (w.q.) SPAIN (Canary Is).
 * [Note: type-locality not indicated on p. 534, but listed previously on p. 517.]
 * Cagniant & Espadaler, 1993: 427 (m.).
 * Combination in C. (Myrmentoma): Emery, 1925b: 121.
 * Subspecies of sicheli: Santschi, 1919e: 248.
 * Subspecies of lateralis: Emery, 1925a: 69; Emery, 1925b: 121; Wheeler, W.M. 1927g: 117; Wellenius, 1955: 15; Báez & Ortega, 1978: 189; Barquin Diez, 1981: 435; Hohmann, et al. 1993: 161.
 * Status as species: Cagniant & Espadaler, 1993: 426 (redescription); Bolton, 1995b: 102; Espadaler, 2007: 121; Borowiec, L. 2014: 32.

Taxonomic Notes
Seifert (2019): Investigated was 1 type worker labeled ‘Type’, ‘Tenerife Valle Gimenes 10. IX. 1899.’, ‘C. lateralis Ol guancha Sant’ and 1 type gyne labeled ‘Type’, ‘Tenerife Bajan..do 23: III : 1902’, ‘C. lateralis guancha Sant’; both stored in. This species from the Canaries differs from all Eurocaucasian species shown in Tab. 2 and Tab. 3 by propodeal and petiolar shape. The dorsal surface of propodeum is clearly convex in transverse section. In lateral aspect, dorsum and caudal slope of propodeum form an angle of about 130° and the transition is rounded – i.e., there is no indication of a dorsocaudal protrusion or of an abrupt transition from dorsal plane to slope. The petiolar node is narrow (PeW/CS1.25 0.322) but thick in lateral view – corresponding to the situation in Lasius fuliginosus (Latreille 1798). These characters may possibly indicate a close relatedness to the North African taxa Camponotus ruber and Camponotus sicheli niger.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Cagniant, H., and X. Espadaler. "Camponotus guanchus Santschi, 1908, stat. nov. et études des populations de Camponotus sicheli Mayr, 1866 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)." Journal of African Zoology 107 (1993): 419-438.
 * Espadaler, X.. "The ants of El Hierro (Canary Islands)." Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80 (2007): 113-127.
 * Espadaler, Xavier. 2007. The Ants of El Hierro (Canary Islands) in Snelling. pp. 113-127
 * Espadaler, Xavier. 2007. The Ants of El Hierro (Canary Islands). Memoirs of the AMer113-127.
 * Hohmann H., F. La Roche, G. Ortega, and J. Barquín. 1993. Bienen, Wespen und Ameisen der Kanarischen Inseln. Veröff. Überseemus. Bremen Naturwiss. 12: 14.
 * Santschi, F.. "Fourmis d'Espagne et des Canaries." Boletín de la Real Sociedad española de Historia natural (Madrid) 19 (1919): 241-248.
 * Santschi, F.. "Nouvelles fourmis de l'Afrique du Nord (Égypte, Canaries, Tunisie)." Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 77 (1908): 517-534.
 * Wellenius, O. H.. "Entomologische Ergebnisse der finnländischen Kanaren-Expedition 1947-1951. No. 10. Formicidae Insularum Canariensium. Systematik, Ökologie und Verbreitung der Kanarischen Formiciden." Commentationes Biologicae Societas Scienitarum Fennica 15(8) (1955): 1-20.