Gesomyrmex chaperi

Peeters et al. (2017) studied ten complete nests from three populations (northern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and Sabah) of Gesomyrmex, and they may all correspond to G. chaperi.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia. Oriental Region: Cambodia.

Biology
See Gesomyrmex

Observations of behaviour are challenging in tree canopies, and Peeters et al. (2017) used functional morphology to predict the specialised functions of different castes. Disproportionately large eyes and piercing mandibles are consistent with workers being agile hunters. Soldiers and supersoldiers share robust mandibles, but the latter have a rectangular head and substantially larger body size, like the queens. This suggests both supersoldiers and queens have the muscular power necessary to chew entrance tunnels in healthy wood. Queens and supersoldiers also share frontal lobes (protection for antennal bases), suggesting that they block nest entrances with their heads. When founding a nest, newly mated queens need to chew an entrance tunnel that reaches the innermost soft pith. Supersoldiers are mostly restricted inside nests where they store nutrients in their gaster, but they may also chew the entrance tunnels of additional nests as the colony expands.



Castes
Atypically for subfamily Formicinae, the pupae lack a cocoon.



Nomenclature

 *  chaperi. Gesomyrmex chaperi André, 1892b: 47, fig. 1-3 (w.) BORNEO. Senior synonym of janeti: Wheeler, W.M. 1929a: 10.
 * janeti. Dimorphomyrmex janeti André, 1892b: 51, figs. 4, 5 (s.w.) BORNEO. Junior synonym of chaperi: Wheeler, W.M. 1929a: 10.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * André E. 1892. Voyage de M. Chaper à Bornéo. Catalogue des fourmis et description des espèces nouvelles. Mém. Soc. Zool. Fr. 5: 46-55.
 * Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
 * Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
 * Wheeler W. M. 1916. Four new and interesting ants from the mountains of Borneo and Luzon. Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club 6: 9-18.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1929. The identity of the ant genera Gesomyrmex Mayr and Dimorphomyrmex Ernest André. Psyche (Cambridge) 36: 1-12.