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

 * . Camponotus bidens Mayr, 1870a: 387 (w.) COLOMBIA (“New Granada”).
 * Forel, 1899c: 145 (footnote) (s.); Wheeler, W.M. 1934g: 225 (q.).
 * Combination in C. (Myrmeurynota): Forel, 1912i: 92;
 * combination in C. (Myrmorhachis): Forel, 1914a: 274;
 * combination in C. (Myrmocladoecus): Wheeler, W.M. 1922c: 16.
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 222; Emery, 1896d: 377 (in list); Forel, 1899c: 145 (footnote); Forel, 1902b: 172; Wheeler, W.M. 1916d: 330; Wheeler, W.M. 1918b: 28; Wheeler, W.M. 1922c: 16; Emery, 1925b: 166; Wheeler, W.M. & Darlington, 1930: 109; Wheeler, W.M. 1934e: 424; Wheeler, W.M. 1934g: 225; Wheeler, W.M. 1942: 259; Kempf, 1972a: 54; Bolton, 1995b: 88; Guénard & Economo, 2015: 227; Mackay & Mackay, 2019: 753.
 * 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

 * Achury R., and A.V. Suarez. 2017. Richness and composition of ground-dwelling ants in tropical rainforest and surrounding landscapes in the Colombian Inter-Andean valley. Neotropical Entomology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0565-4
 * Arruda F. V., M. A. Pesquero, D. G. Marcelino, G. A. Leiter, J. H. C. Delabie, and R. Fagundes. 2015. Size and condition of bamboo as structural factors behind the vertical stratification of the bamboo-nesting ant community. Insectes Sociaux DOI 10.1007/s00040-015-0440-4
 * 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.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * 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.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Peres M. C. L. 2012. Efeito de clareiras naturais sobre as assembleias de formigas (Formicidae) e aranhas (Araneae) num trecho de Mata Atlantica. PhD thesis, Universidade Federal da Bahia, 111 pages.
 * 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.
 * Pérez-Sánchez A. J., J. E. Lattke, and M. A. Riera-Valera. 2014. The Myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Macanao Semi-arid Peninsula in Venezuela: An Altitudinal Variation Glance. J Biodivers Biopros Dev 1: 116. doi:10.4172/ijbbd.1000116
 * Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, P. de Tarso Amorim Castro, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2012. Annual and Seasonal Changes in the Structure of Litter-Dwelling Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic Semideciduous Forests. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/959715
 * 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.
 * Ulyssea M.A., C. E. Cereto, F. B. Rosumek, R. R. Silva, and B. C. Lopes. 2011. Updated list of ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) recorded in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, with a discussion of research advances and priorities. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 55(4): 603-611.
 * 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
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. The ants of Trinidad. American Museum Novitates 45: 1-16.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1934. Neotropical ants collected by Dr. Elisabeth Skwarra and others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77: 157-240.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1942. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 90: 1-262.
 * da Silva de Oliveira A. B., and F. A. Schmidt. 2019. Ant assemblages of Brazil nut trees Bertholletia excelsa in forest and pasture habitats in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Biodiversity and Conservation 28(2): 329-344.