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).
lanuginosa occurs in wet and dry forest habitats. It nests in dead wood on the ground.
Southern Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela, Bahamas (where probably introduced; Brown 1961), Cuba. Costa Rica: Atlantic and southern Pacific lowlands.
Taxonomic history
See also: Brown, 1961a PDF: 62; Bolton, 2000: 521.
