Colobopsis imitans

Colobopsis imitans
Colobopsis imitans minor worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Colobopsis
Species:
C. imitans
Binomial name
Colobopsis imitans
Schifani, Giannetti, Csősz, Castellucci, Luchetti, Castracani, Spotti, Mori & Grasso, 2021

Colobopsis imitans, the chameleon ant, is a species of ant of the genus Colobopsis.

Biology

This species is highly associated with many arboreal subdominant ants of the mediterranean basin. These include Dolichoderus quadripunctatus, Crematogaster scutellaris, Crematogaster ionia, Crematogaster cf. ionia (Cyprus), Crematogaster ariadnae, and possibly Crematogaster schmidti. Where it occurs in sympatry with these species it mimics their coloration and follows their trails.[citation needed]

References

  1. 1 2 Wagner, Herbert C.; Csősz, Sándor (2025). "The "Chameleon Ant" Colobopsis imitans Adapts Its Mimetic Appearance to Local Model Species Across the Mediterranean Basin (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Ecology and Evolution. 15 (12) e72674. doi:10.1002/ece3.72674. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 12742699. PMID 41459096.
  2. ↑ Schifani, Enrico; Giannetti, Daniele; Csősz, Sándor; Castellucci, Filippo; Luchetti, Andrea; Castracani, Cristina; Spotti, Fiorenza A; Mori, Alessandra; Grasso, Donato A (2022-04-01). "Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 194 (4): 1424–1450. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab035. ISSN 0024-4082.