Lepisiota capensis guineensis

Reported and illustrated by Taylor (1978) as the most commonly seen Lepisiota at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre, CRIN, where it was one of the most abundant of all ant species. Nests are usually made in dead wood both on standing trees or on the ground. Forage widely across the ground and on almost any vegetation or trees. Dominant on 9-10% of cocoa, and 53/76 farms (combined result with other Lepisiota species) in Nigeria, where it was regarded as negatively associated with Oecophylla longinoda (Taylor 1977; Taylor & Adedoyin 1978). There they are avid tenders of aphids and coccids, often building tents of soil material over these Homoptera; curiously these soil tents have not been found to be associated with black pod disease. Also found on coffee, kola, oil palm and plantains. Taylor et al. (2018) report finding workers in Benin on the ground and on trees, arboreal nesting in hollow branchs, as antagonistic to O. longinoda, nesting in a hollow branch at 2.5 m, and under bark of Eucalyptus.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya.

Nomenclature

 *  guineensis. Acantholepis capensis var. guineensis Mayr, 1902: 296 (w.) GHANA. Combination in Lepisiota: Bolton, 1995b: 227.

Taxonomic Notes
Taylor et al. (2018) note that this subspecies is "Readily separable from L. capensis (Mayr, 1862) as that has stout dark erect hairs whereas this has finer colourless erect hairs.", and propose treating this taxon as a full species. This proposal has not been followed by recent authors.