Camponotus femoratus

This species and its New World congener Camponotus irritabilis have a reputation as some of the world's most aggressive ant species. Their mandibles can readily break the skin of an unwary or unlucky myrmecologist, and the ants add to this discomfort by spraying the cut with formic acid. An individual doing this is annoying. These ants though attack en mass and can deliver many such bites at once.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Nomenclature

 *  femoratus. Formica femorata Fabricius, 1804: 397 (q.) BRAZIL. Emery, 1894c: 174 (w.); Forel, 1904c: 49 (s.). Combination in Camponotus: Roger, 1862c: 284; in C. (Myrmothrix): Forel, 1914a: 269. Junior synonym of rufipes: Roger, 1861b: 164. Revived from synonymy: Mayr, 1863: 14. See also: Hashmi, 1973: 44.