Camponotus aethiops

This is a common European species distributed from Germany to Italy and from Spain to southern Russia. It can also be found in north-west Africa, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Near East, Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan (Radchenko 1997c). It inhabits xerotherm grasslands and shrub areas, especially in Mediterranean habitats. Nests are built in the soil. (Marko et al., 2009; Rigato & Toni, 2011).

Identification
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - C. aethiops is a member of the subgenus Tanaemyrmex, recognized by its small size, the head with erect setae on the genae and ventral surface, the tibiae slightly compressed laterally and without a dorsomedial ridge, covered only with apressed pubescence in addition to a ventral row of bristles, and its black to reddish-black body. Major workers have matte head and mesosoma dorsum.

Several varieties of C. aethiops were described based on color, shape of the propodeum, and strength of their sculpture (see Emery, 1908). The Israeli specimens show a variability in these features that encompasses all Eastern Mediterranean forms of C. aethiops, although these features are not “correlated”, as stated in the original description. Workers in one series are similar to syntypes of var. concava Forel (Kugler, personal communication) because of their distinctly concave propodeal dorsum in lateral view and black body with reddish legs. However, in other series, the propodeal shape and color differ: the propodeal dorsum in lateral view varies from distinctly concave to straight, and the body color varies from completely black, to partly black with head and mesosoma dark brown; while the legs range from black to ferruginous-brown or brownish-yellow.

Distribution
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - Western Palaearctic, from Germany to Kazakhstan, and the western Mediterranean through southern Europe and Asia Minor to Afghanistan (Radchenko, 1997b) and Israel.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia. Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Balearic Islands, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine.

Other Insects
This ant has been associated with the butterfly Glaucopsyche alexis (Obregon et al. 2015).

Fungi
This species is a host for the ectoparastic fungus Laboulbenia camponoti (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Nomenclature

 *  aethiops. Formica aethiops Latreille, 1798: 35 (w.q.m.) FRANCE. Combination in Camponotus: Mayr, 1861: 36; in C. (Myrmoturba): Forel, 1914a: 266; in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 97. Subspecies of sylvaticus: Forel, 1874: 38 (in key); Nasonov, 1889: 11; of rubripes: Forel, 1886f: 143; of maculatus: Forel, 1892i: 306; Ruzsky, 1902d: 6; Emery, 1908a: 199; Forel, 1915d: 70; Finzi, 1924a: 14; Menozzi, 1918: 87; Karavaiev, 1927c: 276; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929b: 36. Revived status as species: Emery, 1898c: 125; Bondroit, 1918: 72; Emery, 1920b: 255; Emery, 1920c: 7; Santschi, 1921a: 116; Menozzi, 1922b: 331; Finzi, 1930d: 317; Santschi, 1931a: 11; Menozzi, 1936d: 300; Karavaiev, 1936: 185; Stitz, 1939: 248; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 110; Bernard, 1967: 336; Kutter, 1977c: 206; Arnol'di & Dlussky, 1978: 551; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 217. Senior synonym of nigrata: Mayr, 1855: 313; Radchenko, 2007: 38; of angustata: Emery, 1908a: 199; of hyalinipennis: Emery, 1914e: 2; Emery, 1915a: 250; of marginata (and its junior synonym sylvaticoaethiops): Pisarski, 1975: 31; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; of concava, sylvaticoides: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; of glaber: Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 128. Current subspecies: nominal plus cachmiriensis, escherichi.
 * angustata. Formica angustata Latreille, 1798: 34 (w.m.) FRANCE. Junior synonym of aethiops: Emery, 1908a: 199.
 * marginata. Formica marginata Latreille, 1798: 35 (w.q.) FRANCE. Nylander, 1856b: 54 (m.). Combination in Camponotus: Mayr, 1861: 36; in C. (Myrmoturba): Forel, 1915d: 70; in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 97. Junior synonym of sylvaticus: Mayr, 1865: 27. Revived from synonymy: André, 1874: 176; Forel, 1874: 40; Ruzsky, 1895: 9; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 184. Subspecies of aethiops: Bondroit, 1918: 73; Menozzi, 1925d: 35; Finzi, 1928c: 791; Stitz, 1939: 251. Senior synonym of sylvaticoaethiops: Forel, 1915d: 70. Junior synonym of fallax: Bernard, 1967: 342; of aethiops: Pisarski, 1975: 31; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58.
 * nigrata. Formica nigrata Nylander, 1849: 35 (w.q.m.) ITALY (Sicily). Junior synonym of aethiops: Mayr, 1855: 313; Radchenko, 2007: 38.
 * sylvaticoaethiops. Camponotus sylvaticus var. sylvaticoaethiops Forel, 1874: 39 (w.q.m.) SWITZERLAND. Subspecies of aethiops: Dalla Torre, 1893: 221. Junior synonym of marginata: Forel, 1915d: 70.
 * hyalinipennis. Camponotus marginatus var. hyalinipennis Costa, 1884: 56 (q.) ITALY (Sardinia). Junior synonym of aethiops: Emery, 1914e: 2; Emery, 1915a: 250.
 * concava. Camponotus aethiops var. concava Dalla Torre, 1893: 221 (s.w.) GREECE. [First available use of Camponotus rubripes r. aethiops var. concavus Forel, 1889: 263; unavailable name.] Finzi, 1930d: 317 (q.); Menozzi, 1936d: 301 (l.). Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 97. Subspecies of aethiops: Arnol'di, 1967: 1829; Pisarski, 1970: 322. Junior synonym of aethiops: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58.
 * sylvaticoides. Camponotus aethiops var. sylvaticoides Dalla Torre, 1893: 221 (s.w.) BULGARIA. [First available use of Camponotus maculatus r. aethiops var. sylvaticoides Forel, 1892i: 306; unavailable name.] Subspecies of aethiops: Müller, 1923: 156; Emery, 1925b: 97. Junior synonym of aethiops: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58.
 * glaber. Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) aethiops var. glaber Emery, 1925b: 97 (w.) RUSSIA. [First available use of Camponotus maculatus subsp. aethiops var. glaber Ruzsky, 1905b: 213; unavailable name.] Junior synonym of aethiops: Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 128.

Worker
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - TL = 4.9–9.5, HL = 1.15–2.54, HW = 0.86–2.50, EL = 0.35–0.51, SL = 1.29–2.19, ML = 1.76–3.16, MW = 0.74–1.56, mTbL = 1.09–1.84, hTbL = 1.43–2.50 (n = 40).

Determination Clarifications
The species from Lebanon that was formerly identified as Camponotus concavus Forel (junior synonym of C. aethiops in Bolton et al., 2006) by Tohmé (1969a) was reidentified as Camponotus sannini by Tohmé and Tohmé (1999).