I know this species from Monteverde and Cerro Cacao, both montane sites. In Monteverde C. albicoxis very commonly inhabits houses. John Campbell used to refer to them as "cranny ants." They can be found nesting opportunistically in cupboards, in cardboard boxes, or behind books on shelves. At Estacion Cacao in Guanacaste Conservation Area I found them in the station building, nesting under an old mattress. Like some other species of Tanaemyrmex they seem capable of very quickly occupying a nest site and just as quickly abandoning it.
I have occasionally observed them outside of houses. In the Monteverde community a pasture relict tree fell. It was medium size Ficus tree with a dense mat of epiphytes, including Clusia and other epiphytic shrubs. I found a populous C. albicoxis colony under the mat, in a well-insolated area. This nest contained a developmental abnormality - an ergatogyne - that was like a major worker but with enlarged trunk and very short, malformed wings. Elsewhere under the same epiphyte mat I found an isolated foundress queen.
In a patch of dry scrub vegetation just below Monteverde (about 1300m elevation, just below Stuckys' farm) I found a small nest in a dead knot, about 2m high.
As is typical of mmost species of "Tanaemyrmex" Camponotus, workers appear to be strictly nocturnal in their foraging behavior.
Costa Rica: Cordillera de Tilaran and Cordillera de Guanacaste.
Taxonomic history
Combination in Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925d PDF: 83.Raised to species: Emery, 1925d PDF: 83.Camponotus albicoxis is een mierensoort uit de onderfamilie van de schubmieren (Formicinae).[1][2] De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1899 door Forel.
Bronnen, noten en/of referenties
Camponotus albicoxis é uma espécie de inseto do gênero Camponotus, pertencente à família Formicidae.[1]
Camponotus albicoxis é uma espécie de inseto do gênero Camponotus, pertencente à família Formicidae.
