Species: Tapinoma litorale

Distribution:

Bahamas, USA (Florida), Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia. Costa Rica: lowland wet forests throughout the country.

Biology:

Natural History:

This species occurs in lowland rainforest. It is arboreal, nesting in thin dead sticks or other small plant cavities in highly insolated microhabitats, such as forest edges or high in the canopy. For example, I observed one nest in the core of a thin, soft rotten stick. There was a small tubular chamber in the center, about 5cm long, that housed a total of 20 adult workers and one dealate queen. Most colonies I have seen have been polygynous, with multiple dealate queens in nests.

Notes:

I take a broad view of litorale, to include panamense Wheeler 1934 (and its synonym canalis Wheeler 1942). There is considerable variation and there could well be multiple cryptic species.

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2010)

3 Specimens Imaged | View All 62 Specimens for this species

CASENT0104532

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CASENT0104533

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CASENT0105858

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