Diet

• Omnivorous, feeding primarily on plant nectar, extrafloral nectar, pollen, fungi, honeydew from sap-feeding insects, bird droppings, and other nutrient-rich organic matter.

• Workers also scavenge dead insects but rarely hunt live prey.

• Many species obtain nitrogen from unusual sources such as vertebrate droppings and decaying organic material.

Range

• The genus Cephalotes is distributed from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America, extending to northern Argentina.

• Numerous species occur throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

• Most diverse in tropical forests.

Habitat

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, mangrove forests, secondary forests, woodland edges, and mature forests.

• Almost entirely arboreal, nesting in hollow twigs, abandoned beetle tunnels, dead branches, and natural cavities in living trees.

• Workers rarely descend to the ground, spending nearly their entire lives in the forest canopy.

Size

• Worker length: 3–10 mm (0.12–0.4 in), depending on the species.

• Soldier length: Up to 12 mm (0.5 in).

• Queen length: 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in).

• Colonies typically contain a few hundred to several thousand workers.