Thanks for commenting, Michael. I do not know how far south these guys get- presumably their range will map to that of their host species, and that should be somewhere in Mexico...
If I remember correctly, the citronella odor is an alarm pheromone from the mandibular gland.
Do you know the distribution of the claviger group ants? I recently found a colony near Querétaro, Mexio. I don't think they go much further south than that.
And, why do they smell like citronella?
Thanks for commenting, Michael. I do not know how far south these guys get- presumably their range will map to that of their host species, and that should be somewhere in Mexico...
If I remember correctly, the citronella odor is an alarm pheromone from the mandibular gland.