Camponotus (Myrmothrix) rufipes (Fabricius, 1775)

Pazmiño-Palomino, Alex & Troya, Adrian, 2022, Ants of Ecuador: new species records for a megadiverse country in South America, Revista Brasileira de Entomologia (e 20210089) 66 (2), pp. 1-15 : 5

Camponotus (Myrmothrix) rufipes (Fabricius, 1775)

Figs. 6, 21B

Material examined. Ecuador. Orellana: Parque Nacional Yasuní, 32 Km SSE Limoncocha , Km 39 Pompeya sur, 0.65713°S, 76.453°W, 216m, 5☿, 1995-02-08, Erwin, T. et al., fogging, ( MEPN); same information, except: 1☿, 1994-01-22, ( MEPN) .

Comments. This species is easily recognizable due to its blackish body with brown or orange legs making a strong contrast; abundant erect hairs on the antennal scapes and tibiae; antennal scapes flattened near the base; anterior margin of clypeus concave and angled laterally. C. rufipes is widely distributed in South America ( Mackay and Mackay, 2019). Colonies make their nests in rotten wood or under tree bark. Oliveira et al., (2015) found colonies of C. rufipes nesting in Cecropia trees, while Fagundes et al., (2010) found nests in bamboo in Brazil. The workers can be very aggressive and may be found foraging inside the vegetation (litter leaf) or on ground trails. It may inhabit in anthropized areas, as for example, cities and crops, but also in natural grasslands, shrubby areas, and tropical rain forests ( Mackay and Mackay, 2019).

Figures

Figure 21 Geographic distribution of the species examined in the present study.