Odontomachus erythrocephalus

This species is common and, with its bright red head, conspicuous in the Atlantic lowland rainforests of Costa Rica. It inhabits mature forest, foraging on the ground and low vegetation, and nesting in rotten wood on the ground or rotten stumps. In one case I was collecting at the edge of an old lava field on Volcan Arenal, an area of boulders and open sand, with very little vegetation. A populous colony was under a stone in a narrow strip of grass. (Longino/Ants of Costa Rica)

Identification
Key to Odontomachus of the New World

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama.

Nomenclature

 *  erythrocephalus. Odontomachus haematodes r. erythrocephalus Emery, 1890b: 44 (w.) COSTA RICA. [Also described as new by Emery, 1894k: 50.] Forel, 1914e: 9 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952c: 650 (l.). Raised to species: Kempf, 1972a: 170; Brown, 1976a: 144.