Liometopum occidentale

Liometopum occidentale
L. occidentale worker from the United States
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Tapinomini
Genus:	Liometopum
Species:	L. occidentale
Binomial name
Liometopum occidentale Emery, 1895

Liometopum occidentale is a species of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Liometopum occidentale is often mistaken for carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) by homeowners and pest management professionals. This mistaken identity is due to morphological and behavioral characteristics they share with carpenter ants; namely polymorphic workers, a smooth convex thoracic profile, and the tendency to excavate wood. Consequently, their importance as structural pests may be greatly under reported, especially in California, Oregon, and Washington, United States.

Liometopum occidentale was originally described as Liometopum microcephalum var. occidentale by Emery (1895). Wheeler (1905) relocated it to a variety of Liometopum apiculatum. It was finally elevated to the species level by Wheeler (1917) and remained there in a recent taxonomic review by Del Toro et al. (2009).

Liometopum occidentale is found from sea level to over 1840 m in coastal regions from southern Washington to northern Mexico. The range of elevation of this species also appears to depend on latitude with ants collected from locations in Oregon as low as 7 m and up to 1700 m in California. They are the most common and dominant ant in oak and pine forests of southwestern U.S. They prefer to nest in the crevices of oaks, alders, elms, cottonwoods, and creosote, in soil, underneath bark of dead trees.

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