Camponotus tricoloratus

A species of semi-arid and arid habitats.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  tricoloratus. Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) tricoloratus Clark, 1941: 90, pl. 13, figs. 22, 23 (s.w.) AUSTRALIA.

Description
Worker major. Length 15.5-17 mm. Head and last four segments of gaster brown; cheeks antennae, first segment of gaster and tarsi reddish brown, head with a broad black longitudinal strip behind; sides of the clypeus and frontal carinae black; thorax, node and legs yellow, pronotum darker. Mandibles densely punctate-reticulate, with numerous large shallow piligerous punctures, obliquely striate at base of teeth. Head very finely and densely reticulate-punctate, the punctures small and obsolete. Thorax, node and gaster shining, very finely reticulate. Hair reddish, long and erect, sparse throughout, there is a row of very long hairs at the base and at the apex of each segment of gaster, extra long at apex of gaster, shorter and stouter on legs, bristle-like on under-side of tibiae and tarsi, none on antennae. Pubescence very fine and adpressed. Very sparse throughout. Head almost as broad as long, anterior fourth of sides convex, straight and parallel behind, occipital border concave, angles rounded. Mandibles broad, convex above, furnished with numerous strong teeth. Clypeus slightly broader than long, dorsum flatly convex, anterior border strongly produced, straight in front, strongly crenulate, with seven or eight broad tubercles. Frontal area small. Frontal carinae one-fifth longer than broad in the middle, broader behind than in front. Scapes extend beyond the occipital border by their thickness; first three segments of funiculus equal in length, two and one-half times longer than broad. Eyes small, flately convex, placed on front of head behind the middle. Ocelli small. Thorax twice as long as broad, sutures sharply impressed. Pronotum two and one-fourth times broader than long, strongly convex. Mesonotum one-seventh broader than long, broadest in front, strongly convex transversely. Mesonotum two and one-half times broader than long, oval. Epinotum one-third longer than broad, convex laterally; in profile pronotum and mesonotum strongly and evenly convex, suture sharply impressed, epinotum concave in the middle of dorsum, three-fifths longer than the declivity into which it is rounded. Node three and one-half times broader than long, strongly convex in front, straight behind; in profile higher than long, almost triangular, anterior face convex, erect, posterior face straight, raised and ascending at an obtuse angle, the top sharp. Gaster one-third longer than broad. Legs long and robust. Worker minor. Length 12.5-14 mm. Head black; mandibles, clypeus and antennae reddish brown; thorax, gaster and tarsi brownish yellow, legs yellow. Scultpure and pilosity as in the worker major. Head one-third longer than broad, three times broader in front than behind, produced backward neck-line, sides feebly convex. Mandibles as in the major, but the teeth strong. Clypeus strongly raised longitudinally in the middle, subcarinate, the denticles on anterior border smaller and more obsolete. Frontal carinae narrower, particularly in front. Scapes extend beyond the occipital border by half their length; third and fourth segments of funiculus one-fourth longer than first and second. Eyes large, globular, placed behind the middle of sides. Thorax three times as long as broad, suture sharply impressed. Pronotum as long as broad, cone-shaped, broadest behind. Mesonotum as long as broad in front, twice as broad in front as behind. Mesonotum one-fourth broader than long, oval. Epinotum one-third longer than broad; in profile dorsum similar to that of the major but the epinotum longer and the declivity shorter, dorsum twice as long as declivity. Node one-fifth longer than broad, oblong, sides straight and parallel, anterior and posterior faces slightly convex, angles rounded; in profile as long as high, almost triangular, anterior faces convex directed backward, posterior face feebly convex directed forward, top sharp pointed. Gaster barely twice as long as broad. Legs long and slender. Male and female unknown. Habitat.-Victoria: Near Mildura (Mrs M.J.Zimmer). Near C. (T.) spinitarsus Emery, but is distinguished by the shape of the thorax and node.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Heterick B. E., B. Durrant, and N. R. Gunawardene. 2010. The ant fauna of the Pilbara Bioregion, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 78: 157-167.
 * McArthur A. J., and R. Leys. 2006. A morphological and molecular study of some species in the Camponotus maculatus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia and Africa, with a description of a new Australian species. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 99-110.