MIXED NESTS OF CONOMYRMA INSANA AND 
C . FLA VO RECTA — EVIDENCE OF PARASITISM 
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) 1 
By Wm. F. Buren, J. C. Nickerson, and C. R. Thompson 
Department of Entomology and Nematology 
University of Florida 
Gainesville, Florida 32611 
Ants of the dolichoderine genus Conomyrma are abundant in 
Florida. The nests are in the ground with the usually single nest 
opening surrounded by a rather uniformly constructed crater approx- 
imately 7 to 18 cm in diameter. Open areas in sandy soil with little 
vegetation are usually preferred as nesting sites. The ants often 
forage in full sunlight and move rapidly and seemingly erratically. 
Further information on the general biology of the ants is given by 
Nickerson et al. (1976). 
Two common species occur in Florida. We have, for the present,, 
identified these species as Conomyrma insana (Buckley) and C. 
flavopecta (M. R. Smith), following the revision of Snelling (1973) 
land the identification criteria given by Creighton (1950). The 2 
species differ in color, morphology, and biology. C. insana is nearly 
uniformly dark, greyish black, has a broad, straight, or slightly 
concave occipital border, and has a distinct declivity on the meso- 
notum seen in profile, while C. flavopecta is light yellowish brown, 
with the head and apex of gaster weakly to moderately infuscated,. 
the occipital border rounded or straight only medially, and the meso- 
notum in profile evenly convex without trace of a declivity. Colony 
structuring differs markedly in the 2 species as shown by Nickerson 
et al. (1976). C. insana exists in enclaves of multiple nests with 
much traffic between the nests, transfer of brood, food exchange, and 
many queens localized together in only 1 of many nests, while in 
C. flavopecta there is no traffic between the nests or food exchange 
and a single queen per nest. These consistent data are postulated by 
Nickerson et al. (1976) as solid evidence that colonies of C. insana 
are polydomous whereas colonies of C. flavopecta consist only of a 
single nest. Thus the differences between the 2 taxa in all respects 
are striking, and the evidence that 2 distinct species are involved 
seems unequivocal. 
1 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series 6080. 
Manuscript received by the editor October 1, 1975. 
306 
