Camponotus xerxes

Foragers are common from March to October with a peak in September. Workers were commonly found foraging on Calotropis procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton (Apocynaceae) (Sharaf et al., 2013).

Identification
Sharaf et al. (2013) - The high degree of polymorphism and the large intra- and interspecific variation among the species of Camponotus make determinations often difficult. Camponotus xerxes is closely related to Camponotus fellah but can be distinguished by the absence of erect setae on the ventral head surface, whereas in C. fellah there are 1–10 setae (Ionescu-Hirsch, 2009).

Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - This species has affinities with the Camponotus thoracicus species complex and is closely related to Camponotus fellah, according to Radchenko (1997b). According to Collingwood and Agosti (1996) and Radchenko (1997b), C. xerxes can be distinguished from C. fellah only by the absence of erect setae on the ventral surface of the head.

Distribution
This species was reported from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Collingwood et al. 2011) (Sharaf et al., 2013).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. Palaearctic Region: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

Biology
Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - This is the commonest of the larger Camponotus species in Saudi Arabia. This species has a wide range from Central Asia to the Middle East and Arabia but does not seem to occur in the south west of Saudi Arabia or in Yemen where it is probably replaced by the similar C. fellah. The delimitation of these two large nocturnal foraging species however is not too clear and both species occur in similar habitats in the United Arab Emirates.

Nomenclature

 *  xerxes. Camponotus maculatus r. xerxes Forel, 1904f: 424 (w.q.) IRAN. Karavaiev, 1910b: 9 (s.); Forel, 1913d: 434 (m.). Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 99. Synonym of cognatocompressus: Karavaiev, 1910b: 9. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Pisarski, 1967: 414. Senior synonym of irakensis: Radchenko, 1996b: 1201 (in key); Radchenko, 1997d: 811.
 * irakensis. Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) compressus subsp. irakensis Menozzi, 1927e: 117, fig. 1 (s.q.m.) IRAQ. Junior synonym of xerxes: Radchenko, 1996b: 1201 (in key).

Description
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - TL = 13.3–17.0, HL = 3.16–4.49, HW = 2.50–4.38, EL = 0.86–1.05, SL = 3.48–3.67, ML = 4.53–5.94, PW = 1.84–2.58, mTbL = 3.36–3.79, hTbL = 4.61–5.23 (n = 10).