Camponotus festai Emery, 1894

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 : 558-561

Camponotus festai Emery, 1894

Figs 17–18

Camponotus maculatus subsp. festai Emery, 1894: 1 (s.w.).

Syntype major worker, Bekfeya, Lebanon (MSNG) [Syntype worker images examined, AntWeb, CASENT0905286, photos by Will Ericson, available on AntWeb.org].

= Camponotus maculatus r. caeciliae Forel, 1906: 188 (s.w.); Emery, 1908: 187, as a junior synonym of C. festai .

Syntype workers, Taurus, Turkey (Vogt) [not examined].

Diagnosis. Hind tibia and scape with decumbent to suberect pilosity and additional long, erect setae; gena with numerous erect setae; mesosoma and legs in major and minor workers uniformly reddish-brown, always brighter than black to dark brown head and gaster; gaster uniformly coloured without brighter colouration on its basal part, scape brownish black to black, funiculus yellowish-brown to brown; pilosity on gaster dense.

Distribution. Israel, Lebanon, Syria ( Ionescu-Hirsch 2010), Turkey ( Ionescu-Hirsch 2010; Kiran & Karaman 2012).

Biology. Camponotus festai is poorly known. It is a thermophile species, observed in open and arid environments, most often on hills with pastures and shrubs.

Figures

FIGURES 17–18. Camponotus festai Emery: 17—major worker lateral (AntWeb CASENT0905286, photographer Will Ericson), 18—minor worker lateral (scale bar for 17 = 2 mm, for 18 = 1 mm).