Hi everyone, will be starting a series on the 'Ants of Singapore'. My interest with respect to Singapore's biodiversity are insects, and more specifically, ants (family Formicidae). Ants are a group of insects within the order Hymenoptera (meaning membranous wings). Because of Singapore's position in the tropics, we have a great diversity of ants.
Personally, I don't pronounce to know a lot about these creatures but I am working to familiarize myself with their life history and taxonomy because they're such interesting, and also very beautiful insects.
Cataulacus
Species accounts
Cataulacus granulatus
Today's choice of ants will be none other than Cataulacus granulatus. Ants from the genera Cataulacus are strictly old world, and they look very similar to the New World ants Cephalotes. Cephalotes are known to be able to glide when dropped from a high distance, and I wonder if Cataulacus can do the same. All arthropods (which means jointed-legs) have an exoskeleton but the Cataulacus ant seems to have an exoskeleton even harder than the rest. Perhaps it's a protective adaptation that this group of insects have.
When disturbed, these ants like to take cover but they are also capable moving pretty fast, though not as fast as other ants. Lastly, these ants are arboreal, meaning primarily forage and live in trees!
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| Cataulacus granulatus on a leaf. |
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