Crematogaster mimosae

One of four ant species (also Crematogaster nigriceps, Crematogaster sjostedti, Tetraponera penzigi) that live on Acacia drepanolobium. This small arboreal ant assemblage, nesting in this dominant Africa savanna tree, have been the subject of intensive research by a large group of ecologists studying species interactions and species co-existence (e.g., Young et al. 1997; Martins 2010).

Distribution
Sharaf et al. (2019): Initially described from Kenya, in the Afrotropics this species is East African in its distribution found in Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania (Guénard et al. 2017; Janicki et al. 2017). In the Arabian Peninsula, it was recorded from the KSA, Oman, the UAE and Yemen (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Borowiec 2014; Sharaf et al. 2018).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Kenya, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Palaearctic Region: Oman.

Biology
C. mimosae depends on the domatia provided by the plant for brood rearing and are never found free living separately from the acacias. Ants patrol all parts of the tree above the ground and directly prey on invertebrates and repel browsing herbivores.

Workers tend phloem-feeding scale insects, presumably imposing a cost on host plants that partly offsets the protection given against mammalian herbivores. Trees occupied by C. mimosae had significantly less browsing by giraffes and black rhino than trees occupied by other ant species (Martins 2010).



Nomenclature

 *  mimosae. Crematogaster mimosae Santschi, 1914b: 87, fig. 11 (w.) KENYA. Menozzi, 1939c: 105 (q.). Combination in C. (Crematogaster): Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 841; in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 148; in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.

Taxonomic Notes
Sharaf et al. (2019): From a taxonomic perspective, this is one of the “easy” cases within the genus in Arabia, thus very straightforwardly identifiable.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Collingwood C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7: 230-302.
 * Collingwood, C. A. and D. Agosti. 1996. Formicidae (Insects: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2) Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15: 300-385.
 * Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
 * Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 2013.The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History, 101(2): 127-222
 * Menozzi C. 1930. Formiche della Somalia italiana meridionale. Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana. 9: 76-130.
 * Menozzi C. 1939. Hymenoptera Formicidae. Missione Biologica nel Paese dei Borana. 3: 97-110.
 * Sharaf M. R., B. L. Fisher, H. M. Al Dhafer, A. Polaszek, and A. S. Aldawood. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology 10: e010004
 * Sharaf M. R., S. A. Aldawood, and F. Hita Garcia. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27-81
 * Soulié J., and L. D. Dicko. 1965. La répartition des genres de fourmis de la tribu des "Cremastogastrini" dans la faune éthiopienne et malgache. Hymenoptera - Formicoidea - Myrmicidae. Ann. Univ. Abidjan Sér. Sci. 1: 85-106.
 * Stanton, M.L., T.M. Palmer and T.P. Young. 2002. Competition-Colonization Trade-Offs in a Guild of African Acacia-Ants. Ecological Monographs 72(3):347-363
 * Stanton, M.L., T.M. Palmer and T.P. Young. 2005. Ecological barriers to early colony establishment in three coexisting acacia-ant species in Kenya. Insectes Sociaux 52:393-401
 * Weber N. A. 1943. The ants of the Imatong Mountains, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 93: 263-389.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004