Diet

• Omnivorous, feeding on honeydew from aphids, scale insects, and treehoppers, as well as nectar, plant sap, fruits, fungi, dead insects, and other arthropods.

• Workers also prey on live insects and scavenge carrion to provide protein for developing larvae.

• Frequently visits flowers and extrafloral nectaries in both the forest canopy and on shrubs.

Range

• Native to Mexico, Central America, and much of northern and central South America, extending south to Brazil.

• Widespread throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

• Common in tropical and subtropical forests from sea level to about 2,000 m (6,560 ft).

Habitat

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, cloud forests, secondary forests, woodland edges, plantations, orchards, and gardens.

• Nests in hollow trees, dead branches, rotting logs, beneath bark, and tree cavities, occasionally occupying wooden structures.

• Most foraging occurs on tree trunks and in the forest canopy, although workers also travel across the ground.

Size

• Worker length: 8–14 mm (0.3–0.6 in)

• Major worker: Up to 16 mm (0.6 in)

• Queen length: 18–22 mm (0.7–0.9 in)

• Colonies typically contain several thousand to over 10,000 workers.