Cephalotes cristatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Cephalotes cristatus is a species of arboreal ant of the genus Cephalotes, characterized by an odd shaped head and the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they are on. Giving their name also as gliding ants.
The major components of the mandibular gland secretion of C. cristatus are 4-hepanone and 4-heptanol. Ant alarm pheromones from mandibular gland secretions usually results in an aggressive behaviour. However, ants of the genus Cephalotes are usually unaggressive and use a submissive defences, that includes stopping and lying flat on the surface when alarmed. When worker of C. cristatus were exposed to crushed ant heads, 4-heptanone, 4-heptanol, or a mixture of these chemicals, they assumed a non-aggressive response. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cephalotes cristatus sighting in San José on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 158th most-seen of the 239 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and December–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cephalotes cristatus in San José on a given day, against under 5% in April–July and September–November, the lowest months. Those are among San José's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 300 mm in October.
Only San José, in our data
San José is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cephalotes cristatus sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Cephalotes cristatus that you can see in San José (family Formicidae, Ants) are Hairy-Headed Leafcutter Ant (about 30%), Shimmering Golden Sugar Ant (about 10%) and Tropical Carpenter Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cephalotes cristatus is recorded against all the insects logged in San José (16 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
