[Camponotus piceus F(g)] camponote femelle à confirmer

[jaan]

La nervation alaire est analogue pour tous les Myrmentoma. Pas utile. Mais très probablement C. piceus.

[Sarcophage77]

La nervation alaire est analogue pour tous les Myrmentoma. Pas utile. Mais très probablement C. piceus.

Ca m'intéresse ça ! Quel détail de la nervation correspond à ce sous-genre et sont-ce les Camponotus à propodeum cubiques ou est-ce plus compliqué ?.

[jaan]

Hi, Sarcophage!

I have some problems in writing long explanations in french so I write it in english. I apologize for this, just occasional...

There is no particularity in the wing nervature of the subgenus Myrmentoma among the other Camponotus spp., I referred to it just because it is undoubtedly a Myrmentoma gyne (Camponotus fallax also belongs in this subgenus). On the contrary, the colour of the wings can be variable and useful in Camponotus.

The subgenus Myrmentoma (cosmopolitan exactly as the genus Camponotus is) is not exclusively composed of the species with a cubical propodeum. These species with a cubical propodeum belong in the lateralis-group (palearctic). Just 2 species of the group occur in France: C. lateralis and C. piceus. In Italy there is at least one more species: C. dalmaticus. These 3 species are extremely close and similar, practically twin species (if ignoring the colour that is a very bad character to consider as relevant in myrmecological taxonomy), even if the nesting habits are quite differentiated (C. piceus is strictly terricolous while C. lateralis and C. dalmaticus are mostly arboricolous).

C. piceus in particular is a big problem and its taxon is under revision. Probably it consists in several cryptic species. In Italy there is also another described (from Sicily) taxon within the lateralis-group: C. spissinodis, but I can anticipate you that it will be soon synonymized with C. piceus. While C. atricolor (eastern Europe), previously considered a junior synonym of piceus, has been recently removed from synonymy by Seifert and raised to valid species on morphological basis (very feeble differences). But I'm not sure about the effective validity of this taxon, I suspect they could be separating mere populations instead of species. Probably the molecular analyses will resolve these issues in the next future.

[Sarcophage77]

D'accord j'ai lu. La cuticule à reflet bleu, très lisse et doté d'une grosse ponctuation très espars des parties noire, ça a l'air d'être assez caractéristique de certaines espèces du groupe (C. piceus, C. lateralis C. dalmaticus ....). Est-ce recevable ?

[lauzette]

[Sarcophage77]

Mets C. piceus probable.