Papago X9 Software Free 19
Brandi Baylon
Recognizable by the truncate anterior part of the head of the major, which is nearly perpendicular to the long axis of the head as seen from the side. C. papago nests in dead branches. The minors can be difficult to separate from similar species (Camponotus ulcerosus). The metanotal suture is depressed in C. papago but is not in C. ulcerosus. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)
Creighton (1953) - Before concluding this paper I wish to present an account of the habits of C. papago. The ten colonies taken to date have all come from evergreen oaks or mesquite trees. The two oaks involved are Quercus emoryi and Q. oblongifolia. Most nests are constructed in the stubs of broken-off branches which have a diameter of an inch and a half or more. The thickness of the stub seems to be more important than its length. I have taken colonies from stubs less than six inches long but I have yet to see one in a branch that was small enough to be considered a twig. Inside the stub are numerous, narrow passages which roughly parallel the grain of the wood. Several openings lead from these to the outside. It is evident that in a fully developed nest of papago there must be several "janitors" on duty at the same time. As mentioned above, this ant does not ordinarily nest in twigs. At first I supposed that this reaction might be due to a scarcity of trees which have twigs with a suitable central pith cavity and this may be a part of the explanation. But it now seems certain that moisture plays a large part in the choice of nest site. I had realized that papago usually nests in limb stubs which point upward long before I saw any significance in this response. But on one occasion I was examining limb stubs immediately after a heavy and prolonged rain storm. I found that the stubs which pointed upward caught and held the rain water much as a cistern would. Rain soaked into the fractured upper end of the stub and accumulated at its lower end. The lower end was often so wet that water would drip out of it after the stub was knocked loose from the tree. In contrast, the horizontal stubs and those which pointed downward caught far less rain. The latter were often quite dry inside, despite the fact that they had been drenched with rain for several hours previously. It thus appears that the female of papago, in choosing a nest site in limb stubs which point upward, takes advantage of a natural system of water conservation. This could certainly be one reason why the nesting habits of papago differ from those of the eastern twig-dwelling species. It may be added that the preference of this ant for nesting in the stubs of broken-off limbs seems to be one factor which has kept it out of the hands of collectors. It was some time before I realized that the most important piece of equipment needed to collect C. papago is a heavy axe. The nests are almost always built in sound, hard wood and it is not easy to get the insects out, even after the stub has been knocked loose. The ants which are in the lower passages can often be jarred out by whacking the stub with the back of the axe. But to get all of them the stub must be split into pencil-sized pieces. Anyone who makes a practice of collecting papago will never lack for exercise.
In addition four more colonies were secured near Perkins Ranch in Brown Canyon on the eastern slope of the Balboquivari Mountains. These last colonies were situated at elevations between 4100 and 4600 feet. Mention has already been made of the single colony taken in Garden Canyon in the Huachuca Mountains. The elevation of the station from which this colony came was 5800 feet. Since the above was written nests of C. papago have been taken by the writer in Cottonwood Canyon, Peloncillo Mts. (4800'), Arizona and fourteen miles north of Imuris, Sonora (3200'), Mexico. In both cases the ants were nesting in Q. emoryi.
The majors of C. papago, when disturbed, have a curious habit of exuding from the mouth a sticky, greyish fluid. This often spreads backward over the truncated portion of the head. If it is allowed to dry there it forms a crust that is almost impossible to remove. As to what the use of this fluid may be is hard to say. It may have repellant characteristics for other ants and thus serve as a defensive mechanism which the major employs when acting as a janitor at the nest entrance.
It is safe to infer that C. papago forages at night. Although I have examined hundreds of oak and mesquite limbs, some of which later proved to contain flourishing colonies of papago, I have never seen a worker outside the nest. This foraging must be a slow business, for papago is a rather sluggish ant. The minor workers can move with fair speed but the majors are so slow that it is easy to pick them up. Finally, the marriage flight of papago occurs throughout the month of July. In an ordinary year it would thus take place during the first half of the summer rainy season.