Tag Archives: Formicidae

Camponotus fabricator (F. Smith)

Saint Helena Carpenter Ant (Camponotus fabricator)

The Saint Helena Carpenter Ant was described in 1858 on the basis of at least a single worker (?), which was supposedly collected at an unknown date somewhere on the island of Saint Helena.

The species was repeatedly reclassified as a subspecies of other, African or European, species but was finally accepted as being valid in 1914. [1]

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There are no recent records of this form, and it is believed to be extinct; however, it might in fact not even be native to Saint Helena but might have been an introduced form brought to the island with imported goods. [1]

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syn. Formica fabricator F. Smith

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References:

[1] James K. Wetterer; Xavier Espadaler; N. Philip Ashmole; Howard Mendel; Chris Cutler; Judith Endeman: Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the South Atlantic islands of Ascension Island, St Helena, and Tristan da Cunha. Myrmecological News 10: 29-37. 2007

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edited: 29.05.2021

Temnothorax wollastoni (Donisthorpe)

Wollaston’s Ant (Temnothorax wollastoni)

Wollaston’s Ant was described in 2006, however, it is known only from two specimens that were collected in 1940 on the island of Madeira.

The species is apparently quite similar to (Temnothorax gaetulus Santschi) from Morocco, from which it differs from that species by lacking spines and a clear mesopropodeal depression.

Wollaston’s Ant was not found during recent surveys, it is possible that it was wiped out by introduced ant species. [1]

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References:

[1] James K. Wetterer; Xavier Espadaler; Andrea L. Wetterer; Dora Aguin-Pombo; António M. Franquinho-Aguiar: Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Madeiran Archipelago. Sociobiology 49(7): 1-33. 2007   

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edited: 07.05.2021