Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) solon Forel
Type location Angola (Camponotus rubripes Drury r.
C. Solon n.st., Forel, 1886f: 152, soldier & worker;
Emery, 1889e: 500, queen; raised to species by Dalla Torre, 1893:
253, catalogue listing, and Emery, 1920b: 255, etc.); subspecies
chiton (Emery, 1925b: 100, soldier, worker & queen;
earlier spelt chilon by Forel, 1901h: 68) from Senegal,
from Thiès, by F. Silvestri; and jugurtha (Wheeler,
1922: 236, soldier, below; Emery, 1925b: 100) from Zaïre;
soldier, worker and queen described (see Bolton, 1995)
 .
Forel's (1886f) description is at
and Emery's (1899e) description of the major is at
 .
Forel's (1901h) description of chilon is at
 .
Santschi (1937d) gave a key to the varieties, with a separation
from brutus, this is at
Forel (1915c) recorded specimens from St. Gabriel, Zaïre,
collected by Kohl, from forest edges, small individuals. Wheeler
(1922) had chilon from Benin (by Martiensen) and
Nigeria (Old Calabar, by Bates, in Forel, 1911e), also
records from Zaïre.
Wheeler (1922) described jugurtha, as a new variety, -
WORKER MAXIMA - Differing from the typical solon in its
much paler color, the antennae, head, and thorax being red; the
mandibles, front, and a streak down the middle of the clypeus
castaneous; the posterior corners of the head, the legs including
the coxa, the petiole, and the three basal gastric segments
brownish yellow; the tip of the gaster more brownish. The
mandibles are very finely striated and the petiolar scale is much
compressed and prolonged above as in the typical solon and
not blunt as in brutus. In the feebler punctuation of the
head this variety is also like the typical solon.
A single specimen from Batama (Lang and Chapin), without further
data.
From Guinea, Bernard (1952) noted this large ant, common
in west and central Africa, was more common at low altitudes than
congolensis; collections included Yalanzou (very common),
Thio, Kéoulenta, Sérengbara, Nion, N'Zo, Camp IV at
1000 m (abundant); rare at site T 125 and Mount Tô, 1600 m.
Listed as a forest species able to live in degraded zones in
Ivory Coast by Lévieux & Louis (1975). They
also reported it as being strictly nocturnal with peak activity
around one hour after sunset (1900 hours). |
The
photomontage is of a major from the Central African Republic,
Dzanga-Sangha NP; 27.01.2005; 02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0"
E 350m; Camp 1; U.V : 20h30-2h30 sur plateforme à 45m
du sol dans un Aningré (Aningeria altissima,
Sapotaceae); collector Philippe Annoyer. Specimens from a malaise
trap, hence with numerous moth wing scales adhering to the whole
ant. Other images can be seen in the folder at -
The
photomontage is of a minor from the Central African Republic,
2005.