Camponotus castaneus
| Camponotus castaneus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Genus: | Camponotus |
| Species: | C. castaneus
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| Binomial name | |
| Camponotus castaneus (Latreille, 1802)
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Camponotus castaneus, the red hazelnut carpenter ant, is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It is primarily orangish-red ant in the family camponotus. Its workers are usually around 8-10 mm, and queens around 18-20 mm. As with most camponotus species, camponotus castaneus has majors and super-majors, usually appearing in the second or third year of the colony's founding, majors are usually 10-14 mm, with super majors being around 13-17 mm. camponotus castaneus has a generalist diet, feeding on insects and carbohydrates such as honeydew, which is easily accessible. This ant is not a pest therefore you should not use pesticides against them. The ant has a smooth thorax and abdomen, with 1 node separating them.
Diapause (Hibernation)
Similar with other camponotus ants, Camponotus Castaneus will go into a hibernation-like state during the winter, called diapause. Though unlike other ants, they go into diapause very early, usually during the first cool days of fall, they stop foraging. Which is usually the reason they are not seen during fall or winter. In some hot areas, such as Southern Florida, they still go through diapause during fall and winter, regardless of the temperatures.
Development
Like all ants, Camponotus Castaneus has 4 main stages, egg, larvae, pupa or pupae, and Adult ant. The entire process from egg to adult ant takes around 35-60 days, depending on the environment factors, such as heat, food, and humidity.
Egg The eggs are laid by the Queen Ant, which is around 18-20 mm, common with camponotus ants. Eggs are very small, usually 1-3 mm, and look like white beads. They can take up to 1 or two weeks to hatch into the next stage, Larvae.
Larvae Once the egg hatches, it hatches into Larvae, which is the longest stage before adult ant, taking a few weeks at least. These larvae need to be fed, and they are hook shaped, and they must be fed, unlike the eggs and Pupae. During diapause, developing ants are usually kept at this stage. More on feeding in the social behavior section, during this stage is also when the gender of the ant is decided, whether it is a female queen or worker, or a drone (male ant)
Pupa/pupae Once the larvae develops, it turns into a pupae, which depending on the species of ant, may be what is said to be "Naked." Naked pupae look like pale worker ants that are clumped together. Camponotus castaneus however, does not have naked pupae, meaning the pupae are "spun". which makes it look brown and oval-shaped, these are usually spun by the queen and worker ants, though sometimes it is spun with the developing ant itself. This way of spinning a cocoon can be useful to some species. Such as a Weaver Ant.
References
- ^ "Camponotus Castaneus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Camponotus castaneus species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Camponotus castaneus". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "Camponotus castaneus Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ Ward, Philip S.; Blaimer, Bonnie B.; Fisher, Brian L. (2016). "A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex". Zootaxa. 4072 (3). Magnolia Press: 343–57. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4072.3.4. PMID 27395929.
- ^ Christopher M. Wilson; Autumn Smith-Herron (2016). "Morphology of the male genitalia of Brachymyrmex and their implications in the Formicinae phylogeny". Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 50. Pensoft Publishers: 81–95. doi:10.3897/JHR.50.8697. ISSN 1070-9428.
- ^ "AntWeb". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
Further reading
- Bolton, B. (2016). "Catalogue of the Ants of the World" (PDF). unpublished communication. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
External links
Media related to Camponotus castaneus at Wikimedia Commons
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