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Bolton (2000) described a group of four related Strumigenys species in the S. silvestrii group: S. calamita, S. nastata, S. perdita, and S. timicala. The first three were lowland rainforest species from Costa Rica. Strumigenys timicala was described from two worker series: the holotype and associated paratypes from a cloud forest site in central Nicaragua; and a second worker series from Montecristo National Park in El Salvador. The Leaf Litter Arthropods of MesoAmerica project discovered that S. timicala is one of a complex of species that are among the most common cloud forest ants on mountaintops from Guatemala to central Nicaragua.
DNA barcoding results suggest up to 10 largely allopatric mountain-top populations with 7-13% sequence divergence among them. Morphologically, these are all extremely similar, but there is subtle variation that, with further assessment, may allow morphological separation of different populations. Variation occurs in the size, location, and inclination of the preapical mandibular tooth; the presence or absence of a preapical denticle; sculpture of the postpetiole; size and disposition of basigastral costulae; strength of ventral spongiform strip of petiole; and color. In one population in Honduras the apical fork of the mandible has a small intercalary tooth.
A form north of the Motagua Fault in Guatemala has no DNA sequence data currently, but has several distinctive morphological features that allow separation as a different morphospecies. Unlike the other members of the whole group (including S. calamita, S. nastata, and S. perdita), the face has only one pair of erect setae (only the pair near the vertex margin, missing the anterior pair), the mesonotal setae are weakly clavate (not flagellate), and the metanotal groove is impressed. Otherwise the habitus is very like forms of S. timicala.
Almost all collections of the complex are from Winkler and Berlese samples of forest floor litter and rotten wood. All the S. timicala-like specimens are from cloud forest. In spite of hundreds of separate collections of the S. timicala complex in Winkler samples, and thousands of specimens, no queen has ever been collected. Small nests have been observed twice, once under epiphytes on a branchfall, and once in the duff on a cloudforest peak. No queens were found in these nests. No alate queens have been found in Malaise samples. Among the workers, no conspicuous intercastes have been observed. A single male is known, from a Malaise sample, associated with workers from the site by DNA barcoding.
Found most commonly in these habitats: 107 times found in cloud forest, 2 times found in mixed hardwood forest, 1 times found in pine-mesophyll forest, 1 times found in ridgetop cloud forest.
Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 111 times ex sifted leaf litter, 3 times leaf litter.
Collected most commonly using these methods: 95 times MiniWinkler, 16 times MaxiWinkler, 1 times leaf litter.
Elevations: collected from 1410 - 1790 meters, 1485 meters average
Type specimens:
Madagascar
Canada
Brazil
China
Greece
Spain
Australia