Cephalotes scutulatus (Smith 1867)

Natural History:

This species prefers rainforest and moist forest habitats. Collections of workers are fairly common from treefalls and canopy fogging samples. Nests can be in live or dead stems. Kempf (1952) observed that although scutulatus had been collected in pseudobulbs of Schomburgkia tibicinis and other orchids (Skwarra 1934), Acacia cornigera (Skwarra 1934) and Tillandsia sp. (Wheeler 1942), its association with these myrmecophytes was only facultative because it also occurred frequently in dead twigs and vines.

I have the following nest collections of this species:

Small Ficus tree along stream edge. Nest in 10mm dia dead branch.

Pasture/primary forest edge. Cecropia insignis sapling. Nest in two internodes.

Mexico to Panama (Bugaba), Ecuador. Costa Rica: throughout the country in wet and moist forest habitats.

Cryptocerus scutulatus Smith, 1867 PDF: 524, pl. 26, fig. 3 (s.) MEXICO. Neotropic. AntCat AntWiki HOL

Taxonomic history

Wheeler, 1907b PDF: 273 (s.w.m.).Combination in Paracryptocerus (Harnedia): Kempf, 1952 PDF: 26.Combination in Zacryptocerus: Hespenheide, 1986: 395.Combination in Cephalotes: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 410.Senior synonym of Cephalotes angulosus (and its junior synonym Cephalotes jucundus): Emery, 1924f PDF: 311; Kempf, 1958a: 110.

Cephalotes scutulatus is a species of arboreal ant of the genus Cephalotes, characterized by an odd shaped head, and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they're on. Giving their name also as gliding ants.

Cephalotes scutulatus é uma espécie de inseto do gênero Cephalotes, pertencente à família Formicidae.