| Colobopsis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type species Colobopsis truncata worker | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Camponotini |
| Genus: | Colobopsis Mayr, 1861 |
| Type species | |
| Formica truncata Spinola, 1808 | |
| Diversity | |
| 95 species | |
Colobopsis is a genus of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. This genus was first described in 1861 by Mayr and contains 95 species. The type species is Colobopsis truncata . [1] [2] [3]
As part of Camponotini, Colobopsis workers have distinctive mandibular dentition (5-8 teeth with the 3rd tooth from the apex not being reduced), antennae 12-segmented and antennal separations well separated from the posterior clypeal margin. [4]
Colobopsis workers are dimorphic, being divided into major workers and minor workers. The major workers generally have phragmotic heads that are truncate to varying extents. This may cause them to be confused for Camponotus and vice versa, since some Camponotus also have phragmotic heads. [4] Queens of Colobopsis have phragmotic heads as well. [5]
Workers in the Colobopsis cylindrica group have greatly developed mandibular glands that extend from the head all the way to the end of the gaster. [6]
Pupae of Colobopsis are always naked. This is unlike pupae of Camponotus, which are enclosed in cocoons. [4]
Colobopsis make their nests in plant material such as wood, galls and dead branches. The entrances to these nests are as wide as the truncate heads of major workers and queens. This allows a major worker or queen to plug an entrance using her head (phragmosis). To allow nestmates to pass, the soldier/queen moves back into the nest tunnel, which widens immediately past the entrance. [5]
Workers in the Colobopsis cylindrica group have the ability to burst the gaster, releasing mandibular gland compounds from the head (autothysis). For this, they are known as "exploding ants". This is used against competitors and predators, and is fatal to the worker itself but benefits the colony. [6]
For a period of time, Colobopsis was considered a subgenus of Camponotus. A 2015 phylogenomic study found it to be the sister group to all the remaining Camponotini. [7] Consequently, Colobopsis has been treated as its own genus again. [4]
Selected species:
The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.
Autothysis or suicidal altruism is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion of an organ which ruptures the skin. The term was proposed by Ulrich Maschwitz and Eleonore Maschwitz in 1974 to describe the defensive mechanism of Colobopsis saundersi, a species of ant. It is caused by a contraction of muscles around a large gland that leads to the breaking of the gland wall. Some termites release a sticky secretion by rupturing a gland near the skin of their neck, producing a tar effect in defense against ants.
Carpenter ants are large ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
Colobopsis saundersi, synonym Camponotus saundersi, is a species of ant found in Malaysia and Brunei, belonging to the genus Colobopsis. A worker can explode suicidally and aggressively as an ultimate act of defense, an ability it has in common with several other species in this genus and a few other insects. The ant has an enormously enlarged mandibular (jaw) gland, many times the size of a normal ant, which produces defense adhesive secretions. According to a 2018 study, this species forms a species complex and is probably related to C. explodens, which is part of the C. cylindrica group.
The banded sugar ant, also known as the sugar ant, is a species of ant native to Australia. A member of the genus Camponotus in the subfamily Formicinae, it was described by German entomologist Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson in 1842. Its common name refers to the ant's liking for sugar and sweet food, as well as the distinctive orange-brown band that wraps around its gaster.
Colobopsis schmitzi, synonym Camponotus schmitzi, is a species of ant native to Borneo, which is commonly known as the diving ant, swimming ant or pitcher-plant ant, due to their habit of diving into the digestive fluids of their plant host Nepenthes bicalcarata. They are endemic to the island of Borneo.
Polyergus lucidus is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae endemic to the eastern United States. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after its brood and reliant on ants of another species of the genus Formica to undertake these tasks. Parasitic ants are known as "dulotics" and the ants they parasitise are known as "hosts".
Colobopsis anderseni, synonym Camponotus anderseni, is a species of mangrove ant found in northern Australia.
Camponotus reburrus is a species of carpenter ants in the subfamily Formicinae. It is known only from northeastern Ecuador. C. reburrus apparently has an obligatory relationship with the ant plants Cecropia membranacea, Cecropia herthae and Cecropia marginalis. The workers are relatively small and hairy, it does not appear to have major workers. It is similar to Camponotus balzani which also lives in Cecropia spp..
Polyergus rufescens is a species of slave-making ant native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, commonly referred to as the European Amazon ant or as the slave-making ant. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the colony and reliant on ants of another species to undertake these tasks. To replenish these servant ants, it raids nearby ant colonies and carries home pupae and larvae, and these are reared to provide future workers for the colony. A newly mated female P. rufescens needs to make its way into one of these "host" nests, kill the host queen, and be accepted by the host workers in her place.
Polyergus mexicanus is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is the most widely distributed species of Polyergus in North America. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the colony and reliant on ants of another species, Formica, to undertake these tasks. The parasitic ants are known as "dulotics" and the ants they parasitise are known as "hosts".
Lasiini is a tribe of ants in the family Formicidae. There are about 10 genera and more than 450 described species in Lasiini.
Brachymyrmex patagonicus is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Camponotus castaneus, the reddish carpenter ant, is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Formica ravida is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Camponotus chromaiodes, known generally as, the ferruginous carpenter ant or red carpenter ant, is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Formica obscuriventris is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Formica moki is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Formica neogagates is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. Found throughout North America and Canada, introduced in Europe, France.
Formica archboldi is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. They are known for their abnormal behavior, which includes the collection and storage of Odontomachus (trap-jaw) ant skulls.
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