Camponotus (Myrmosericus) flavomarginatus Mayr
Type locality Ghana (Mayr, 1862: 664, worker; Forel,
1907c: 144, queen & male) from the Akwapim Mountains;
subspecies albisectus (Emery, 1892a: 120, worker) from
Somalia; unavailable names contraria (Santschi,
1916b: 509, worker) from Zimbabwe, paucipubens
(Santschi, 1911g: 212, worker) from Angola; (see Bolton,
1995)  .
Mayr's (1862) description is at
 .
Emery's (1892a) description of albisectus is at
 .
Santschi's (1916b) description of contraria is at
 .
Arnold (1924: 693) gave a translation plus contraria,
these are at
 .
Santschi (1911g) described paucipubens briefly as having
the red colour on the alitrunk extending further and sometimes
even on to the scale. the pubescence on the gaster was shorter and
sparser, thus the sculpture was more apparent and the gaster more
obviously black.
Nigeria specimens in drawing -
MAJOR - TL 9.00 mm, HL 2.49, HW 2.49, SL 1.93, PW 1.52
MINOR - TL 5.76 mm, HL 1.43, HW 1.12, SL 1.87, PW 1.03
Colour black, extremities dark red-brown, dull. Coarse erect
hairs sparse, but covered all over with a fairly dense pilosity of
a pale yellow colour particularly on the gaster. Declivity of
propodeum smoothly curved. Petiole a rounded node. |
 Collingwood
(1985) recording it from Saudi Arabia, noted that it is a
distinctively patterned pubescent species in the C.
rufoglaucus complex. Characteristics he used for diagnosis
were the absence of a metanotal groove; the gaster with dull
pubescence, that is long thick and silvery, with a distinct
longitudinal pattern on each side of the median line; head and
body uniformly dark.
Wheeler (1922) has no other West African records, although he
listed it, as a subspecies of rufoglaucus, from all over
the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.
In Nigeria fairly common especially on insolated ground,
where it nests in the soil. Forages widely across the ground and
on native herbaceous vegetation and trees; also on cocoa (fairly
common), cashew, coffee, kola and oil palm. Will tend aphids on
cocoa but probably does not build tents.
From Ghana on open ground and exposed herbs at the
Mampong Cemetery Farm, and in 12 cocoa canopy samples by Room
(1971), also on cocoa mistletoe (Room, 1975). Sixteen workers were
collected on the ground under Amelonado cocoa at CRIG by Bigger
(1981a), and Belshaw & Bolton (1994b) collected fifteen
workers at Bunso and CRIG, as 'tourists' in leaf litter under
secondary forest and cocoa. Room (1971) found it to be positively
associated with Crematogaster clariventris.
In Cameroun, found in pitfall traps, with total of
50-300 individuals, in all three of Jackson's cocoa plots at
Nko'emvon (Jackson, 1984).
Photomontage of minor specimens from Rwanda, coffee plantation,
collector Gabriel Bizimungu (2005).
Other images can be seen in the folder at -
|
Collingwood
The photomontage is of a minor from the Central African
Republic.