myrmepropagandist on Nostr: Camponotus is a big bloated genus of ants. So many species and so much diversity! ...

Camponotus is a big bloated genus of ants. So many species and so much diversity! But, they all have the distinctive “humpback” and most are what we call “carpenter ants” larger, often black ants who don’t sting but are still very bold!

So I was not shocked when I saw chartifex, the ants with the primitive silk nest weaving, listed as both Camponotus chartifex and as Dendromyrmex chartifex— I thought someone had split the genus— not so! Dendromyrmex is something called a “sub genus” 1/