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Camponotus
festinatus (Buckley)
Figures 209-210, 222, 225
Formica festinata Buckley,
1866:164; o _.
Camponotus (Camponotus)
fumidus pubicornis Emery, 1893, 668, 670; o.
Camponotus fragilis Pergande,
1893:26; o.
Camponotus fumidus var. fragilis:
Emery, 1895:336; o. Wheeler, 1910a:315; o.
Camponotus fumidus var. festinatus:
Wheeler, 1902e:22; o.
Wheeler, 1910a:312-314; o.
Camponotus fumidus var. spurcus
Wheeler, 1910a:315; o _.
Camponotus fumidus subsp. festinatus:
Creighton, 1950:376; o.
Palaeosminthurus juliae Pierce
and Gibron, 1962:147-148.
Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) festinatus:
Snelling, 1968:350-355; figs. 1-3; o _ _.
Camponotus festinatus: Snelling,
199-:00-00.
RANGE: Central Texas to southern
California; adjacent Mexico.
DESERT RECORDS. Map 14. Imperial
Co.: Niland, -124', 25 June 1962 (D. A. Killgore; LACM); Calipatria,
-184' 1-11 June 1962 (J. D. Tison; CDFA); Brawley, -118', 11 June
1962 (D. A. Killgore: CDFA); 3 mi E Imperial, -70', 4 May 1956 (RRS;
LACM);
El Centro, -45', various dates & collectors (CDFA, LACM); 8
mi E Holtville, 22 June 1963 (R. L. Westcott; LACM); Calexico, 1',
various dates and collectors (CDFA, LACM); 0.5 mi S Seeley, 8 May
1970 (E. L. Paddock et al.; CDFA); 3 mi N Glamis, 15-16 Sept 1972
(M. S. Wasbauer, A. R. Hardy; CDFA); campgr., Picacho St. Recr.
Area, 300', 6 May 1978 (RRS & CDG, #78-35; LACM); Bard, 150',
12 June 1962 (W. J. Akins; CDFA); Winterhaven, 131', various dates
and collectors (CDFA, LACM). Riverside Co.: 7 mi S Squaw
Tank, JTNP, 20 Mar 1965 (E. L. Sleeper, S. L. Jenkins; LACM); Thousand
Palms Canyon, 21 June 1954 (W. A. McDonald; LACM); Palm Springs,
475', 7 June 1946 (LACM); Indian Wells, 24 Mar 1938 (R. D. Cowles;
LACM); Indio, -22', Sept 1963 (H. T. Reynolds; LACM); 2 mi S Coachella,
O', 22 Feb 1963 (WSC; LACM); Valerie Jean's, 29 Jan 1962, 22 Feb
1963 (W. H. Ewart, C. H. Musgrove; LACM); Blythe, 266', various
dates (L. A. Stange, R. M. Hardman; LACM); 1 mi E Mecca, -190',
5 Nov 1978 (RRS & CDG, #78-155; LACM). San Bernardino Co.:
1 mi S Sunflower Spring, 3100', Old Woman Mts., 8 May 1965 (RRS;
LACM); Twentynine Palms, 1855', 3 Aug 1933 (P. H. Timberlake; LACM).
DISCUSSION. The yellow to
pale brownish color of this ant render it one of the easily recognized
species of Camponotus in the desert area. These desert populations
differ rather substantially, especially in the distribution of erect
hairs, from those of other areas of the Southwest. They may represent
a hitherto undescribed species, but considerably more material must
be studied before this is clear.
Palaeosminthurus juliae, based
on a silicified fossil, was originally described by Pierce and Gibron
(1962) as a collembolan. That it actually is an ant was first noted
by Najt (1987). Snelling (199-) reexamined the specimen and determined
that it is the head and mesosoma, sans wings and most legs, of a
Camponotus male. In visible details of size, color, and ocellar
diameter it appears to be most likely a male of C. festinatus,
and has been placed in synonymy with this species (Snelling, 199-).
Camponotus festinatus has been
collected in California at elevations from -190 to 3100 feet. Habitats
on record are variable and include Creosote Bush Scrub, Alkali Sink,
Saltbush Scrub and Joshua Tree Woodland. In Arizona, it inhabits
the higher desert plateaus, according to Cole (1934a), but our records
from California, as well as many from Arizona, Sonora and Lower
California, do not support this view.
This species, like most North American
species of Tanaemyrmex, is one which nests in the ground.
The nests commonly are situated beneath a covering object such as
a log, stone or dried cow dung.
Often, too, the nests are associated with shrubby plants, such as
Atriplex and Ambrosia, and they are situated among
the rootsystems of the plant.
Camponotus festinatus is a
crepuscular/nocturnal species and the workers may be seen wandering
about individually. The food habits are little known, but workers
have been seen at night on Opuntia bigelovii at extrafloral
glands. They have also been
noted to pick up dead arthropods. Males and females have been taken
at light traps from June through September.
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