Current View: All Antweb

Cite this page

View in AntCat

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Distribution:

(based on species list records)
Neotropical Region: Amazonas, Americas, Aragua, Atlántida, Brazil, Cartago, Central America, Chontales, Colombia, Colón, Costa Caribe Norte, Costa Caribe Sur, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Heredia, Honduras, Huánuco, Jinotega, Limón, Madre de Dios, Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puntarenas, San José, South America, Suriname, Trujillo, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Venezuela

Distribution Notes:

Guatemala to Amazonian Brazil. Suriname is the type locality.

Biology:

Eurhopalothrix bolaui is more likely to be found in second growth wet forest habitats than primary forest. It is a lowland species, occurring from sea level to 800 m elevation in Central America. One examined queen from Venezuela was found at 1350 m, in montane forest. Most specimens are from Winkler and Berlese samples of sifted litter and rotten wood from the forest floor. However, on multiple instances workers and in one case a dealate queen have been found by searching beneath loose bark of rotten wood.

Identification:

This species has a single tooth row on the mandible (the similar E. gravis has a double tooth row). It has a full complement of 3 pairs of spatulate setae on the promesonotum (a set of similar, mostly montane species have reduced mesosomal pilosity). Eurhopalothrix zipacna is a larger, darker version of E. bolaui that occurs in cloud forests of Guatemala and Honduras.

Comments:

A worker and queen (probable nestmates) from Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, are considerably smaller than other Central American material. A queen from Venezuela is larger, darker, and with more roughened face sculpture compared to Central American queens.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 10 times found in montane wet forest, 3 times found in wet forest, 1 times found in tropical rain forest, 2 times found in forest, 1 times found in mature wet forest, 1 times found in Puesto9,257g, 10m., 1 times found in 1° forest, 2 times found in Sura, 1 times found in mature cloud forest, 1 times found in rainforest, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 13 times ex sifted leaf litter, 4 times Hojarasca, 2 times rotten wood, 2 times on dead wood, 1 times nocturnal strays, 1 times southern SR-LEP junction; rotten log with loose bark. strays, 1 times sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood), 1 times ex rotten log, 1 times Del refugio hacia M/14, 1 times bajo de M/24, 1 times bajo de M/23, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 6 times Winkler, 5 times Berlese, 5 times search, 5 times maxiWinkler, 4 times Mini Winkler, 2 times Winkler sample, 2 times flight intercept trap, 1 times miniWinkler, 1 times Ex rotten log.

Elevations: collected from 5 - 1350 meters, 483 meters average

Type specimens: syntype of Rhopalothrix amoena: casent0900929; syntype of Rhopalothrix bolaui: casent0915938

See something amiss? Send us an email.

AntWeb is hosted and supported by the California Academy of Sciences.