Colobopsis
Type species Colobopsis truncata worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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 mississippiensis alate

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]

Description

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]

Biology

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]

Phylogeny

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]

Species

Selected species:

References

  1. ↑ "Colobopsis". www.antweb.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  2. ↑ Wheeler, William M. (1904). "THE AMERICAN ANTS OF THE SUBGENUS COLOBOPSIS": 20. hdl:2246/623. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ↑ "Colobopsis - AntCat". www.antcat.org. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ward, Philip S.; Blaimer, Bonnie B.; Fisher, Brian L. (2016-02-02). "A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex". Zootaxa. 4072 (3): 343–357. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4072.3.4. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 27395929.
  5. 1 2 "Colobopsis - AntWiki". antwiki.org. Retrieved 2023-01-23.
  6. 1 2 Jones, T. H.; Clark, D. A.; Edwards, A. A.; Davidson, D. W.; Spande, T. F.; Snelling, R. R. (2004). "THE CHEMISTRY OF EXPLODING ANTS, Camponotus SPP. (cylindricus COMPLEX)". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 30 (8): 1479–1492. doi:10.1023/B:JOEC.0000042063.01424.28. ISSN 0098-0331. PMID 15537154. S2CID 23756265.
  7. ↑ Blaimer, Bonnie B.; Brady, Seán G.; Schultz, Ted R.; Lloyd, Michael W.; Fisher, Brian L.; Ward, Philip S. (2015). "Phylogenomic methods outperform traditional multi-locus approaches in resolving deep evolutionary history: a case study of formicine ants". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1): 271. doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0552-5. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 4670518. PMID 26637372.
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