| Acromyrmex pubescens | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Acromyrmex |
| Species: | A. pubescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Acromyrmex pubescens (Emery, 1905) | |
Acromyrmex pubescens is a species of leafcutter ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. They are native to Paraguay, northern Argentina, and eastern Brazil. [1]
Acromyrmex pubescens was first described as Atta (Acromyrmex) pubescens by the Italian entomologist Carlo Emery in 1905. Starting from Felix Santschi in 1912, subsequent studies have classified it as a subspecies of Acromyrmex lundii , until a reexamination in 2007 resulted in their reclassification as a separate species. [1] [2] It is similar to A. lundii but has more pubescent integument. [2]
Acromyrmex pubescens, like most leafcutter ants, subsist mostly through a mutualistic relationship with fungi of the genus Leucocoprinus . They cultivate the fungi with masticated leaves taken from nearby trees. [3] They are mostly found in isolated 'islands' of trees found in chaco savannahs. [2]
Atta is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains at least 17 known species.
Leafcutter ants, a non-generic name, are any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the two genera Atta and Acromyrmex. These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all endemic to South and Central America, Mexico, and parts of the southern United States. Leafcutter ants can carry twenty times their body weight and cut and process fresh vegetation to serve as the nutritional substrate for their fungal cultivates.
Fungus-growing ants comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on which they later feed.
The ant–fungus mutualism is a symbiosis seen between certain ant and fungal species, in which ants actively cultivate fungus much like humans farm crops as a food source. There is only evidence of two instances in which this form of agriculture evolved in ants resulting in a dependence on fungi for food. These instances were the attine ants and some ants that are part of the Megalomyrmex genus. In some species, the ants and fungi are dependent on each other for survival. This type of codependency is prevalent among herbivores who rely on plant material for nutrition. The fungus’ ability to convert the plant material into a food source accessible to their host makes them the ideal partner. The leafcutter ant is a well-known example of this symbiosis. Leafcutter ants species can be found in southern South America up to the United States. However, ants are not the only ground-dwelling arthropods which have developed symbioses with fungi. A similar mutualism with fungi is also noted in termites within the subfamily Macrotermitinae which are widely distributed throughout the Old World tropics with the highest diversity in Africa.
Acromyrmex is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. This genus is found in South America and parts of Central America and the Caribbean Islands, and contains 33 known species. Commonly known as "leafcutter ants" they comprise one of the two genera of advanced attines within the tribe Attini, along with Atta.
Acromyrmex lundii is a species of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex. It is found in the wild naturally in southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina.
Acromyrmex balzani is a species of leaf-cutter ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is found Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. It occurs in Cerrado and semideciduous seasonal forest. It is a grass-cutting species.
Acromyrmex crassispinus is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae found in the wild naturally throughout South America, especially in Argentina and Paraguay.
Acromyrmex disciger is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced attines within the tribe Attini. It is found in the wild naturally in Paraguay.
Acromyrmex fracticornis is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced attines within the tribe Attini. It is found in the wild naturally in southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina.
Acromyrmex heyeri is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex.
Acromyrmex hystrix is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex.
Acromyrmex insinuator is a social parasite of the closely related Acromyrmex echinatior. This specific parasite is of particular interest as it is an opportunity to study the development of social parasitism in the Attini tribe, and provides further evidence for Emery's rule, which theorizes social parasites among insects tend to be parasites of species or genera to which they are closely related to.
Acromyrmex versicolor is known as the desert leafcutter ant. A. versicolor is found during the summer months in the Colorado and Sonoran deserts when there is precipitation. They form large, distinctive nest craters that are covered with leaf fragments. Living and dead leaves are collected by workers and used to cultivate fungus gardens. Each colony can have multiple queens, if they do this is a practice called polygyny, and each queen has her own batch of “starter” fungus. This species does not sting.
Euprenolepis procera is a species of ant found in the rainforests of South East Asia. It was first described by Carlo Emery, an Italian entomologist, in 1900. In 2008, Witte & Maschwitz discovered that E. procera specialises in harvesting mushrooms in the rainforest for food, representing a new, previously unreported feeding strategy in ants.
Acromyrmex echinatior is a species of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus Acromyrmex. It is found in the wild naturally from Mexico to Panama.
Escovopsis is a genus of seven formally acknowledged parasitic microfungus species that rely on other fungi to be their hosts. This genus formally circumscribed with a single identified species in 1990; in 2013 three other species were added.
Cartwrightia is a genus of scarab found in Latin America. It was named and circumscribed in 1958 by Federico Islas Salas. As of 2017, three species are recognized: C. intertribalis, C. cartwrighti, and C. islasi. They can be found in the nests of leafcutter ants or in dung.
Leucoagaricus gongylophorus is a fungus in the family Agaricaceae which is cultivated by certain leafcutter ants. Like other species of fungi cultivated by ants, L. gongylophorus produces gongylidia, nutrient-rich hyphal swellings upon which the ants feed. Production of mushrooms occurs only once ants abandon the nest. L. gongylophorus is farmed by leaf cutter ant species belonging to the genera Atta and Acromyrmex, amongst others.