Sonoran-desert-endemic
Guides
Cephalotes rohweri
Sonoran Turtle Ant, gliding ant
Cephalotes rohweri is a desert-dwelling arboreal ant known for its distinctive head shape and ability to glide through the air when falling from trees. Colonies nest in abandoned beetle cavities within Palo Verde trees and feed primarily on pollen, rarely descending to the ground. The species exhibits temperature-sensitive gut microbiome dynamics, with bacterial mutualists in the genus Cephalotococcus declining under warm conditions.