Crematogaster limata

A common generalist that inhabits wet forests from sea level to 1000m. It is most abundant in disturbed areas.

Identification
Longino (2003) - Species in the limata complex (Crematogaster brasiliensis, Crematogaster carinata, Crematogaster limata, and Crematogaster tenuicula in Costa Rica) all have abundant erect flexuous setae on the face, moderate length to short propodeal spines that are posteriorly directed, and elongate tapering petioles. The four species can be difficult to separate. They differ primarily in the nature of the ventral processes of the petiole and postpetiole. Crematogaster limata has neither petiolar nor postpetiolar processes, differentiating it from the other three. The propodeal spines are large relative to those of carinata and brasiliensis. Crematogaster limata may also be confused with Crematogaster foliocrypta, but foliocrypta has appressed rather than erect tibial pilosity.

Distribution
Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Biology
Longino (2003) - Crematogaster limata is an extremely generalized species. It occurs most abundantly from sea level to 1000m elevation, where it can be found in wet forest or dry forest, second growth or mature vegetation. It is most abundant in disturbed vegetation in wet forest areas. It is most often encountered near ground level, along roadsides, at forest edges, or in the understory of second growth vegetation. I rarely find it in mature forest. Nests occur in almost any kind of small cavity. I most often find them in dead sticks, but other nest sites have included cavities in live stems of various plant species, an abandoned mud nest of a sphecid wasp, live internodes of Cecropia saplings, and rotting cacao pods.

Colonies may be small, with a single queen in a single nest. Larger colonies may fill many sticks and cavities scattered through a volume of a cubic meter or more, with a central nest containing the queen and abundant brood, and peripheral nests containing workers and brood or very often large aggregations of workers alone, with no brood. Colonies may be monogynous or polygynous. Many colonies that I have observed have contained a single queen, but polygynous colonies are also relatively common. One nest at Hitoy Cerere Biological Reserve in Costa Rica contained 21 physogastric queens. Foundress queens are usually found alone; but I once observed a pair of founding queens together in a small stick, suggesting that pleometrosis occurs at least occasionally.

Workers are omnivorous foragers. They recruit to baits and frequently tend extrafloral nectaries and Homoptera. Workers can be found foraging day or night.

Wheeler (1986) observed a behavioral association between C. limata and the large ponerine ant Ectatomma tuberculatum on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. Ectatomma tuberculatum nests in the ground at the bases of trees. The nest entrance is surmounted by a 2-3cm wide thatch tube that extends about 15cm up the side of a tree trunk or smaller plant stem. Wheeler observed that polydomous C. limata nests were often located near the mouths of E. tuberculatum nests, and that C. limata carried out periodic “raids” into the these nests. The raids were abrupt and short-lived, with workers streaming into and out of a nest entrance for about an hour. Peak flux rates were about 170 workers entering and 170 workers exiting per 15 minute observation period. Wheeler writes “Encountering an E. tuberculatum, the smaller C. limata climbed up one of the larger ant's legs and onto its thorax and head. The E. tuberculatum worker stood still as the C. limata licked the dorsal surface, especially the head. E. tuberculatum did not react aggressively to the intruders. Occasionally, an E. tuberculatum worker opened her jaws as the C. limata licked the extended mouthparts. Then the C. limata worker climbed down and quickly left the nest.” Although Wheeler failed to observe the phenomenon during a brief visit to Finca La Pacifica in the dry forest habitat of northwestern Costa Rica, where she examined five E. tuberculatum nests, I suspect that the phenomenon occurs in Costa Rica. In the Atlantic lowlands I have seen several instances of large C. limata colonies with nests clustered in and around nest entrances of E. tuberculatum.

In the Santa Marta region, many C. limata nests contained abundant inquiline beetles in the genus (Ptinidae).

Schmid, Langner et al. (2014) and Schmid, Morales et al. (2014) found this ant nesting in infructescences (the stem and remains of buds and fruits above the level of the water reservoir in the rosette) of the bromeliad Vriesea friburgensis on Santa Catarina Island, Brazil. Many of these nests contained predatory larvae of the syrphid fly, which were feeding on the brood of the ants. De Oliveira et al. (2015), studying ant occupancy of Cecropia trees in southwest Bahia, Brazil, found a colony of  opportunistically nesting in a Cecropia pachystachya tree.

Nomenclature

 *  limata. Crematogaster limatus Smith, F. 1858b: 139 (w.q.m.) BRAZIL. Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Wheeler, W.M. 1921f: 151. Senior synonym of ascendens, dextella, palans: Longino, 2003a: 79.
 * palans. Crematogaster limata var. palans Forel, 1912f: 216 (w.) PANAMA. Wheeler, W.M. 1921f: 151 (q.); Wheeler, W.M. 1942: 197 (m.). Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Emery, 1922e: 136. Junior synonym of limata: Longino, 2003a: 79.
 * ascendens. Crematogaster (Eucrema) inca subsp. ascendens Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 28 (w.) PERU. Junior synonym of limata: Longino, 2003a: 79.
 * dextella. Crematogaster (Orthocrema) limata st. dextella Santschi, 1929f: 88, fig. 2 (w.) PANAMA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952b: 258 (l.). Junior synonym of limata: Longino, 2003a: 79.

Worker
Longino (2003) - HL 0.676, 0.583, 0.720; HW 0.761, 0.634, 0.791; HC 0.726, 0.594, 0.739; SL 0.663, 0.616, 0.766; EL 0.161, 0.151, 0.192; A11L 0.296; A11W 0.140; A10L 0.130; A10W 0.098; A09L 0.083; A09W 0.081; A08L 0.069; A08W 0.062; WL 0.746, 0.681, 0.852; SPL 0.231, 0.177, 0.245; PTH 0.180, 0.158, 0.187; PTL 0.267, 0.248, 0.276; PTW 0.163, 0.144, 0.176; PPL 0.182, 0.165, 0.185; PPW 0.195, 0.165, 0.196; CI 113, 109, 110; OI 24, 26, 27; SI 98, 106, 106; PTHI 67, 64, 68; PTWI 61, 58, 64; PPI 107, 100, 106; SPI 31, 26, 29; ACI 0.32.

Color red brown; workers monomorphic in size.

Mandibles smooth and shining; clypeus varying from striate, with 5 or more longitudinal carinulae, to nearly smooth and shining, especially medially; head about as long as wide, subquadrate, with emarginate posterior border; antenna with terminal two segments enlarged to form a club, third segment from end somewhat enlarged, blurring distinction between two and three-segmented club; scapes with abundant long erect setae; when scapes laid back from antennal insertions, they surpass margin of vertex; face largely smooth and shining, with variable extent of striated region between antennal insertion and eye, and whorled above antennal insertion; face covered with abundant long flexuous white setae, no appressed pubescence; in face view abundant setae project from lateral and posterior margins.

Promesonotum in profile often formed of three planes, horizontal pronotal dorsum, somewhat elevated and downward sloping anterodorsal face of mesonotum, and more steeply sloping posterodorsal face of mesonotum; on smaller workers profile becomes more smoothly convex; propodeal suture deep in dorsal view but obscured in profile due to lateral carinulae that bridge the suture; posterior mesonotum curves smoothly into horizontal dorsal face of propodeum; propodeal spines long, projecting posteriorly such that they are more or less in same plane as dorsal face of propodeum, sometimes somewhat elevated; dorsal and posterior face of propodeum well differentiated, the dorsal face confluent with the horizontal spines, the posterior face sloping down to petiolar insertion; pronotal dorsum with variably developed longitudinal carinulae, strongest laterally, becoming weaker medially, interspaces smooth and shining, in some cases almost entirely smooth and shining with no carinulae; anterodorsal face of mesonotum with weak, subparallel lateral carinae, these continue onto posterodorsal face as stronger carinae that converge posteriorly, lateral carinae of the two faces meet at angulate to somewhat tuberculate juncture, interspace smooth and shining; dorsal face of propodeum faintly carinulate, posterior face smooth and shining; side of pronotum smooth and shining; katepisternum weakly to distinctly punctate; side of propodeum very faintly sculptured; mesosomal dorsum with abundant long flexuous white setae, setae on pronotal humeri longest; femora and tibiae with abundant long erect setae.

Petiole in side view subtriangular, weakly punctate to nearly smooth; anteroventral tooth usually absent or produced as a short right angle tooth (tooth more developed in South America than Central America); dorsal face of petiole smooth and shining, elongate, widest posteriorly, regularly tapering anteriorly, with long flexuous setae along posterior border; postpetiole lacking ventral tooth, globular in dorsal view, with abundant erect setae; fourth abdominal tergite smooth and shining, with abundant long flexuous erect white setae, no appressed pubescence.

Queen
Longino (2003) - A normal queen (dorsal face of propodeum drops steeply from postscutellum and much of propodeum appears ventral to scutellum and postscutellum) with general shape, sculpture, and pilosity characters of the worker; size characters as in Figures.

Type Material
Longino (2003) - Syntype worker, queen, male: Brazil, Amazonas, Ega (=Tefe) (examined).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Adams B. J., S. A. Schnitzer, and S. P. Yanoviak. 2016. Trees as islands: canopy ant species richness increases with the size of liana-free trees in a Neotropical forest. Ecography doi: 10.1111/ecog.02608
 * Adams B. J., S. A. Schnitzer, and S. P. Yanoviak. 2019. Connectivity explains local ant community structure in a Neotropical forest canopy: a large-scale experimental approach. Ecology 100(6): e02673.
 * Alonso L. E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams. 2016. Biodiversity assessment survey of the south Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No.1, 306 pages.
 * 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.
 * Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Costa-Milanez C. B., F. F. Ribeiro, P. T. A. Castro, J. D. Majer, S. P. Ribeiro. 2015. Effct of fire on ant assemblages in Brazilian Cerrado in areas containing Vereda wetlands. Sociobiology 62(4): 494-505.
 * Costa-Milanez C. B., G. Lourenco-Silva, P. T. A. Castro, J. D. Majer, and S. P. Ribeiro. 2014. Are ant assemblages of Brazilian veredas characterised by location or habitat type? Braz. J. Biol. 74(1): 89-99.
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Davidson, D.W. 2005. Ecological stoichiometry of ants in a New World rain forest. Oecologia 142:221-231
 * Delabie J. H. C., R. Céréghino, S. Groc, A. Dejean, M. Gibernau, B. Corbara, and A. Dejean. 2009. Ants as biological indicators of Wayana Amerindian land use in French Guiana. Comptes Rendus Biologies 332(7): 673-684.
 * Donoso D. A. 2014. Assembly mechanisms shaping tropical litter ant communities. Ecography 37 doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00253.x
 * Emery C. 1890. Studii sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 22: 38-8
 * Emery C. 1894. Estudios sobre las hormigas de Costa Rica. Anales del Museo Nacional de Costa Rica 1888-1889: 45-64.
 * Emery C. 1896. Formiche raccolte dal dott. E. Festa nei pressi del golfo di Darien. Bollettino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia Comparata della Reale Università di Torino 11(229): 1-4.
 * Escalante Gutiérrez J. A. 1993. Especies de hormigas conocidas del Perú (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista Peruana de Entomología 34:1-13.
 * Fernandes I., and J. de Souza. 2018. Dataset of long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the influence areas of a hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24375.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Fichaux M., B. Bechade, J. Donald, A. Weyna, J. H. C. Delabie, J. Murienne, C. Baraloto, and J. Orivel. 2019. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia 189(2): 501-513.
 * Forel A. 1905. Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 49: 155-185.
 * Forel A. 1907. Formiciden aus dem Naturhistorischen Museum in Hamburg. II. Teil. Neueingänge seit 1900. Mitt. Naturhist. Mus. Hambg. 24: 1-20.
 * Forel A. 1908. Ameisen aus Sao Paulo (Brasilien), Paraguay etc. gesammelt von Prof. Herm. v. Ihering, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Fiebrig, etc. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 58: 340-418.
 * Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part III. 3me sous-famille Myrmicinae (suite). Genres Cremastogaster et Pheidole. Mémoires de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 19: 211-237.
 * Forel A. 1913. Fourmis d'Argentine, du Brésil, du Guatémala & de Cuba reçues de M. M. Bruch, Prof. v. Ihering, Mlle Baez, M. Peper et M. Rovereto. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles. 49: 203-250.
 * 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.
 * Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, M. Leponce, J. Orivel, R. Silvestre, Heraldo L. Vasconcelos, and A. Dejean. 2013. Leaf-litter ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover. Myrmecological News 19: 43-51.
 * Houadria M., A. Salas-Lopez, J. Orivel, N. Bluthgen, and F. Menzel. 2015. Dietary and temporal niche differentiati on in tropical ants—can they explain local ant coexistence? Biotropica 47(2): 208-217.
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Jeanne R. J. 1979. A latitudinal gradient in rates of ant predation. Ecology 60(6): 1211-1224.
 * Kempf W. W. 1961. A survey of the ants of the soil fauna in Surinam (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 4: 481-524.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Leponce M., J. H. C. Delabie, J. Orivel, J. Jacquemin, M. Calvo Martin, and A. Dejean. 2019. Tree-dwelling ant survey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Mitaraka, French Guiana, in Touroult J. (ed.), “Our Planet Reviewed” 2015 large-scale biotic survey in Mitaraka, French Guiana. Zoosystema 41 (10): 163-179.
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
 * Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
 * Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Longino, J.T. 2003. The Crematogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of Costa Rica. Zootaxa 151:1-150
 * Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
 * Lopes M. C., G. P. A. Lamarre, C. Baraloto, P. V. A. Fine, A. Vincentini, and F. B. Baccaro. 2019. The Amazonas-trap: a new method for sampling plant-inhabiting arthropod communities in tropical forest understory. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12797
 * Luederwaldt H. 1918. Notas myrmecologicas. Rev. Mus. Paul. 10: 29-64.
 * Lutinski J. A., F. R. Mello Garcia, C. J. Lutinska, and S. Iop. 2008. Ants diversity in Floresta Nacional de Chapecó in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Ciência Rural, Santa Maria 38(7): 1810-1816.
 * Maes, J.-M. and W.P. MacKay. 1993. Catalogo de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Nicaragua. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomologia 23.
 * Miranda P. N., F. B. Baccaro, E. F. Morato, M. A. Oliveira. J. H. C. Delabie. 2017. Limited effects of low-intensity forest management on ant assemblages in southwestern Amazonian forests. Biodivers. Conserv. DOI 10.1007/s10531-017-1368-y
 * Nascimento Santos M., J. H. C. Delabie, and J. M. Queiroz. 2019. Biodiversity conservation in urban parks: a study of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio de Janeiro City. Urban Ecosystems https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00872-8
 * 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.
 * Rodriguez E. R., and J. E. Lattke. 2012. Diversidad de hormigas en un gradiente altitudinal de la cordillera de la Costa, Venezuela. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa (S.E.A.) 50: 295?304.
 * Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
 * Santos P. P., A. Vasconcelos, B. Jahyny, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2010. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) associated to arboreal nests of Nasutitermes spp. (Isoptera, Termitidae) in a cacao plantation in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 54(3): 450-454.
 * Santos-Junior L. C., J. M. Saraiva, R. Silvestre, and W. F. Antonialli-Junior. 2014. Evaluation of Insects that Exploit Temporary Protein Resources Emphasizing the Action of Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a Neotropical Semi-deciduous Forest. Sociobiology 61(1): 43-51
 * Santschi F. 1929. Mélange myrmécologique. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung. 46: 84-93.
 * Schmid V. S., S. Langner, J. Steiner, and A. Zillikens. 2014. Inflorescences of the Bromeliad Vriesea friburgensis as Nest Sites and Food Resources for Ants and Other Arthropods in Brazil. Psyche http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/396095
 * 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
 * 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.
 * Vasconcelos, H.L. and J.M.S. Vilhena. 2006. Species turnover and vertical partitioning of ant assemblages in the Brazilian Amazon: A comparison of forests and savannas. Biotropica 38(1):100-106.
 * 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
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Weber N. A. 1943. Parabiosis in Neotropical ant gardens. Ecology 24: 400-404.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1921. The Tachigalia ants. Zoologica (New York) 3: 137-168.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. The ants of Trinidad. American Museum Novitates 45: 1-16.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1925. Neotropical ants in the collections of the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Arkiv för Zoologi 17A(8): 1-55.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1942. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 90: 1-262.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1916. Ants Collected in Trinidad by Professor Roland Thaxter, Mr. F. W. Urich, and Others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard University. 40(8):322-330