Brown and Wilson (1959) summarize the genus as follows:
"Widespread in tropics and warm temperate areas. Primarily forest-dwelling; some species occur in grassland and arid scrub. ... Nests mostly in soil and rotting wood; a few species live in arboreal plant cavities in tropical rain forest. Foraging hypogaeic to epigaeic-arboreal. Food: most species are collembolan feeders; a few are polyphagous predators or occasionally feed on sugary substances..."Members of the genus are all predaceous, with a kinetic mode of attack (Bolton 1999).
Brown (1962) reports that ludia is a forest species and usually nests in rotten branches or twigs lying on the forest floor. He also reports that the food is chiefly entomobryoid Collembola.
In Costa Rica, ludia occurs in young second growth habitats, and not in samples from mature forest. Thus, this species may be associated with synanthropic habitats. However, in the range further north it is abundant in Winkler samples from mature forest.
In addition to regular queens there are ergatoid queens that are more robust than workers, with a more developed petiolar node, and with a trio of minute ocelli.
Southern Mexico to Costa Rica. Costa Rica: Atlantic lowlands.
Apical fork of mandible with one intercalary tooth; mandible with no preapical teeth; petiole with node only feebly differentiated from its anterior peduncle; gastral hairs mostly stiff, spatulate. Also see Bolton (2000:528).
Head length 0.67-0.74mm, mandible length 0.49-0.56, CI 81-84, MI 73-76 (n=9 workers from 6 localities; Brown 1962).
Taxonomic history
Brown, 1954c PDF: 195 (q.).Senior synonym of Strumigenys ludia tenuis: Brown, 1954c PDF: 194.See also: Bolton, 2000: 528.
