Species: Pachycondyla JTL011

Distribution:

Costa Rica (Atlantic lowland rainforest, to 500m elevation on Cordillera Volcanica Central; Pacific lowland rainforest from Carara to Osa and up to San Vito area).

Biology:

This species shows an interesting difference between the Atlantic slope and Pacific slope populations. The Atlantic slope collections have all been from canopy collections under epiphytes or in recent treefalls. The Pacific slope collections are from three different samples of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor (Winkler samples). This is another example demonstrating that the microclimatic envelope is pushed up on the Atlantic side, such that species found at ground level in the more seasonal Pacific slope forests are found in the canopy of the less seasonal rainforests of the Atlantic slope.