Camponotus planus Smith, 1877

Herrera Léon Baert Wouter Dekoninck, Henri W., Causton, Charlotte E., Sevilla, Christian R., Pozo, Paola & Hendrickx, Frederik, 2020, Distribution and habitat preferences of Galápagos ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 93, pp. 1-60 : 13-15

Camponotus planus Smith, 1877

( ANTWEB: CASENT0173221). ( Map 10 )

Camponotus planus is an endemic diurnal species (WHEELER, 1924; MEIER, 1994). It was collected for the first time by Charles Darwin in 1835 and so far it is recorded on 17 islands. It is common in the Littoral Zone and mangrove patches (foraging between the leaf litter), and it can also be found in dry areas. It is not common in the humid highland zones. It nests in the roots of trees, shrubs, Opuntia sp. (WHEELER, 1924), under rocks, and in dry branches of B. graveolens and rotten logs. Camponotus planus has been recorded feeding on extrafloral nectaries of O. echios , visiting flowers of J. thouarsii ( MEIER, 1994; JARAMILLO et al., 2010), tending mealy bugs on stems of S. atractyloides , S. gordilloi and visiting flowers of C. lutea (WHEELER, 1924; BOADA, 2005).

Workers have been collected in areas with C. scouleri , S. microcephala , M. laricifolia , B. graveolens , Z. fagara , C. lutea and W. ovata , P. rufipes , D. lancifolius , T. rufosericea , H. mancinella , M. octogona , P. floribunda . Camponotus planus has also been found on sandy beaches with Sesuvium edmondstonii Hook. f. and C. pyriformis , in the shrub layer dominated by Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. and O. insularis , in fern zones (like Polypodium tridens Kunze , Doryopteris pedata var. palmata (Willd) Hicken ), on shrubs of L. peduncularis , in grasses covered with I. triloba , and herbs of Sida salviifolia C. Presl. Camponotus planus is also common in branches and leaves of mangroves ( A. germinans , L. racemosa , R. mangle ).

Camponotus planus reacts quickly when the nest is disturbed. In natural areas it can be preyed upon by T. stolzmanni , a crab–spider ( LUBIN, 1983). Males and queens can be abundant in the hot–rainy season (December–May), especially near the coast, where nuptial flights occur. It can also be found during the cold season (June–November), though it is less active (WHEELER, 1924). Males and queens can be collected around lights of lamps in the streets, houses and on ships. Camponotus planus has been found traveling on tourist boats suggesting that they play a role in species transfer between islands ( LOMAS, 2008). Despite its wide distribution in the archipelago C. planus has not been collected on Pinta, Genovesa and Española, however the ant fauna of these islands is poorly studied. Camponotus planus is a complex of at least nine subspecies (WHEELER, 1919, 1924, 1933), that requires further study.

Figures

Map 10. Distribution of Camponotus planus Smith, 1877.