Camponotus samius Forel, 1889

Salata, Sebastian, Khalili-Moghadam, Arsalan & Borowiec, Lech, 2020, Review of the Camponotus samius complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Turano-Balkan region, with the description of a new species from Iran, Zootaxa 4763 (4), pp. 545-562 : 554-558

Camponotus samius Forel, 1889

Figs 15–16 , 24–25

Camponotus rubripes r. samius Forel, 1889: 262 (s.w.). Raised to species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 251. Subspecies of Camponotus maculatus: Emery, 1896: 370 ; Emery, 1905: 35; Forel, 1906: 187. Revived status as species: Emery, 1920: 6; Emery, 1925: 100; Finzi, 1930: 318.

Syntype major and minor workers, Marathokampos, Samos, Greece (MSNG) [Syntype major and minor workers images examined, AntWeb, CASENT0910260 and CASENT0910259, photos by Zach Lieberman, available on AntWeb.org].

= Camponotus samius var. spagnolinii Emery, 1920: 6 (w.); Agosti & Collingwood, 1987: 59, as a junior synonym of C. samius .

Syntype major and minor workers, Büyükada, Turkey (MHNG) [Syntype major and minor workers images examined, AntWeb, CASENT0905291 and CASENT0905290, photos by Will Ericson, available on AntWeb.org].

= Camponotus maculatus r. samius var. bosphoricus Forel, 1906: 187 (w.) Turkey; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name. Material referred to spagnolinii by Emery, 1925: 100. Material referred to samius by Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 219; Bolton, 1995: 89; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 8.

= Camponotus rubripes r. cognatus var. cognatopilicornis Forel, 1889: 255 , 262 (w.) Greece; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name. Material referred to ionius by Emery, 1925: 100. Material referred to samius by Radchenko, 1997: 809.

Diagnosis. Hindtibia and scape with decumbent to suberect pilosity but without additional erect setae; gena with numerous erect setae; minor and major workers with head uniformly black to dark brown, mesosoma and legs with variable colouration from yellow to reddish-brown, gaster in major and minor workers always with distinctly brighter basal part; pilosity on gaster sparse and thin.

Distribution. Greece ( Salata & Borowiec 2018), Turkey ( Kiran & Karaman 2012), Romania ( Tausan & Lapeva-Gjonova 2017), Bulgaria ( Lapeva-Gjonova et al. 2010). We consider the record from Afghanistan ( Collingwood 1961) as doubtful due to the remote locality of this place from the known distribution of the species.

Biology. Camponotus samius is a thermophile species most often recorded from pine forests. It also occurs in stream valleys with deciduous trees, suburban areas with maquis, pastures with shrubs or from dry hills in the coastal area. Nests are located under large stones. Workers are active usually at dawn and dusk.

Figures

FIGURES 15–16. Camponotus samius Forel: 15—major worker lateral, 16—minor worker lateral (scale bar = 2mm).

FIGURES 22–25. Head in full-face view: 22, 23 Camponotus laconicus Emery: 22—major worker, 23—minor worker; 24, 25 Camponotus samius Forel: 24—major worker, 25—minor worker (not to scale).