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Current Valid Name:

Holcoponera strigata

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2023)

// Distribution

Distribution:

  Geographic regions: Not found on any curated Geolocale/Taxon lists.

Distribution Notes:

Mexico to Colombia (Brown 1958, Lattke 1995). Costa Rica: widespread in wet forest between 500 and 2000m elevation, rare at lower elevations. Occurs from Cordillera de Guanacaste to Talamancas.

Biology:

Natural History:

This is the most common Gnamptogenys species above 500m elevation in wet forest leaf litter. It occurs at lower elevations (e.g. La Selva) but is less common there. It is frequently encountered foraging on the ground at night, and is common in samples of sifted leaf litter (Winkler samples). It nests in and under dead wood on the ground, under stones, and in soil. It may be polygynous: I observed a nest in Monteverde with two dealate queens. Observations of prey items include lepidopteran larvae, isopods, diptera (adults and larvae), and beetle larvae.

Nest observation from Guanacaste Province, Cerro Cacao: I discovered a nest in the soil of a steep bank at the side of a trail. Many workers were out foraging, and several workers were observed dragging a dead Camponotus albicoxus to the nest. I excavated the nest; it extended no more than 10cm horizontally back into the bank. There were several irregular galleries and chambers. One major chamber contained the queen.

References:

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1958. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. II. Tribe Ectatommini (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 118:175-362.

Lattke, J. E. 1995. Revision of the ant genus Gnamptogenys in the New World (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 4:137-193.

Norton, E. 1868. Description of Mexican ants noticed in the American Naturalist, April 1868. Communications of the Essex Institute 6:1-10.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 2 times found in Tropical hardwood forest, 1 times found in old growth dry Tropical Forest, 1 times found in tropical wet forest.

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 2 times under rock, 1 times on ground, 1 times litter, 1 times leaf litter, 1 times Base of hardwood in soil.

Collected most commonly using these methods: 2 times direct collection, 2 times Berlese, 1 times hand collecting.

Elevations: collected from 335 - 1480 meters, 1080 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1969-07-02 00:00:00.0 and 2011-05-02 00:00:00.0

Type specimens:

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