Assembly of Myrmelachista Roger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in twigs fallen on the leaf litter of Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Autor(es)

Nakano, M. A. ^[1] ; Feitosa, R. M. ^[2] ; Moraes, C. O. ^[1] ; Adriano, L. D. C. ^[1] ; Hengles, E. P. ^[1] ; Longui, E. L. ^[3] ; Morini, M. S. C. ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Mogi das Cruzes, Lab Mirmecol, BR-08701970 Mogi Das Cruzes, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Museu Zool, BR-04263000 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Inst Florestal, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Journal of Natural History; v. 46, n. 33-34, p. 2103-2115, 2012.
• Citações Web of Science: 11

Resumo

The nests of Myrmelachista are found in tree trunk cavities and branches. The biology of these arboreal ants is still relatively unknown. We investigated the nesting behaviour of this genus in fallen dry twigs in the Atlantic rainforest of southeastern Brazil. Physical characteristics of the nests, colony demographics, presence of breeders and ant worker sizes were recorded. Samples were collected weekly for 12 months, along open, sunny and undisturbed trails within forest remnants. In all, 202 nests were collected and six species were recorded. Myrmelachista ruszkii had the highest population of immatures and the greatest number of nests found. Myrmelachista nodigera had the smallest workers, was the least populous and the colony was housed in the finest branches. These results expand the current knowledge about the diversity and biology of Myrmelachista in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and describe polydomic nests and competitive behaviour of M. ruszkii. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 07/01310-2 - Revisão taxonômica e análise filogenética da subfamília Heteroponerinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
• Beneficiário: Rodrigo dos Santos Machado Feitosa
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado