Camponotus planatus

Camponotus planatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Genus:	Camponotus
Subgenus:	Myrmobrachys
Species:	C. planatus
Binomial name
Camponotus planatus Roger, 1863

Camponotus planatus, known generally as the compact carpenter ant or short carpenter ant, is one of three Camponotus species that is polygynous, or has more than one queen. It is a species of ant (family Formicidae). ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

Arthropod mimics

Further information: Ant mimicry

Four species of arthropod mimic Camponotus planatus within the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve of British Honduras. ^[9] This is both Batesian and Wassmanian mimicry. ^[9] The first mimic is the clubnoid spider (Myrmecotypus fuliginosus) which mimics C. planatus in various ways including morphology and behaviour. Secondly, the salticid spider Sarindia linda mimics C. planatus so well that they are hard to distinguish. S. linda mimics the locomotion patterns, pumping of the abdomen, and movements of the antennae. ^[9] The third mimic is a Mirid bug ( Barberiella ) which mimics the model in both gait and antennal mimicry. Finally, the mantid, Mantoida maya also uses C. planatus as a model. ^[9] Individuals that mimic C. planatus are typically 3-9mm long and predators tend to avoid them. All four mimics have been seen foraging in areas with their model with no interference. ^[10]

• 
  Myrmecotypus mazaxoides mimic (left), carpenter ant model (right)

Seasonal Diet Shift

Camponotus planatus in Yucatan, Mexico, exhibits a seasonal shift in feeding habits based on carbon isotopic evidence. During the dry season, these ants primarily forage on nectar from the CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) orchid Schomburgkia tibicinis, accumulating high levels of CAM-metabolized carbon in their tissues. However, in the wet season, they shift to foraging on other nectar sources and insect prey, which are primarily C3 plants. This change is evident through stable carbon isotope analysis, which shows increased C3 carbon in ant tissues during the wet season ^[11]

Subspecies

• Camponotus planatus acaciaeEmery, 1920
• Camponotus planatus colombicusForel, 1899
• Camponotus planatus continentisForel, 1901
• Camponotus planatus esdrasForel, 1916
• Camponotus planatus planatusRoger, 1863

References

1. "Camponotus planatus Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
2. "Camponotus planatus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
3. Sharkey M.J. (2007). Phylogeny and Classification of Hymenoptera.
4. "Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Hymenoptera", Sharkey M.J., Carpenter J.M., Vilhelmsen L., et al. 2012. Cladistics 28(1): 80-112.
5. Ward, P.S. (2007). "Phylogeny, classification, and species-level taxonomy of ants". Zootaxa 1668 549–563
6. "AntWeb". antweb.org. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
7. Bolton, B., Alpert, G., Ward, S. Naskrecki, P. (2007). A New General Catalogue of the Ants of the World 1758–2005
8. Riley, Edward G., Clark, Shawn M., and Gilbert, Arthur J. (2001). "New records, nomenclatural changes, and taxonomic notes for select North American leaf beetles". Insecta Mundi. 176.
9. Jackson, James F.; Drummond, Boyce A. (1974). "A Batesian Ant-Mimicry Complex from the Mountain Pine Ridge of British Honduras, with an Example of Transformational Mimicry". The American Midland Naturalist. 91 (1): 248–251. doi:10.2307/2424528. JSTOR   2424528.
10. Oliveira, Paulo S.; Sazime, Ivan (June 1984). "The adaptive bases of ant-mimicry in a neotropical aphantochilid spider (Araneae: Aphantochilidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 22 (2): 145–155. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1984.tb01675.x.
11. Rico-Gray, V., & Leonel da Silveira Lobo Sternberg. (1991). Carbon Isotopic Evidence for Seasonal Change in Feeding Habits of Camponotus planatus Roger (Formicidae) in Yucatan, Mexico. Biotropica, 23(1), 93–95. https://doi.org/10.2307/2388694

• Hansson C, Lachaud J, Pérez-Lachaud G (2011). "Entedoninae wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae) associated with ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in tropical America, with new species and notes on their biology". ZooKeys 134: 62–82.

Further reading

• Arnett, Ross H. (2000). American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico. CRC Press.