The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. They comprise the superfamily Coccoidea, previously placed in the now obsolete group called "Homoptera". There are about 8,000 described species of scale insects.
Allomerus decemarticulatus is an Amazonian ant species found in the tropics of South America. This species is most notable for the workers’ complex and extreme predatory behavior, which involves a symbiosis with both a plant and fungal species. They live in leaf pockets of a host plant species, Hirtella physophora. These leaf pockets are areas inside of the plant between the leaves and the stem. Each colony, which consists of about 1,200 workers, inhabits a single tree; however, the ants are spread among the leaf pockets, with typically 40 workers per pocket. Their diet primarily consists of large insects that are captured on the plant, but they also eat some kinds of food bodies produced by the plant as well as its nectar. They are able to capture their prey, which is much larger than themselves, by constructing a platform that acts as a trap for the unsuspecting prey. The ants hide in the trap and attack when any insect lands on it. This technique is an example of ambush predation.
Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Argentine ant, the erratic ant, the odorous house ant, and the cone ant. The subfamily presents a great diversity of species throughout the world, distributed in different biogeographic regions, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions.
Dorymyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae.
Trophobiosis is a symbiotic association between organisms where food is obtained or provided. The provider of food in the association is referred to as a trophobiont. The name is derived from the Greek τροφή trophē, meaning "nourishment" and -βίωσις -biosis which is short for the English symbiosis.
Acropyga is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. A. acutiventris, which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species Xenococcus annandalei. Living, gravid females are carried in the jaws of A. acutiventris queens during their nuptial flight, to establish the symbiotic association in founding colonies. Other Acropyga species have relationships with different species of mealybugs, and it could be a trait common to the whole genus.
Nothomicrodon aztecarum is a species of Neotropical flies, originally described from a larva collected in 1924 from a carton nest of the ant Azteca trigona. It is the only species in the genus Nothomicrodon, but shows none of the features of a hoverfly larva, the family in which it was originally classified, and instead belongs in the family Phoridae.
Azteca andreae is an arboreal ant species found in the tropics of South America, most notably in French Guiana. They are most notable for their predatory skills and strength. They are ambush predators that are able to capture and eat other insects much greater than their own size.
Stigmatomma is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution, and like most other amblyoponines, Stigmatomma species are specialized predators. First described by Roger (1859), it was for a long time considered to be a synonym of Amblyopone until it was revived as an independent genus by Yoshimura & Fisher (2012) based on worker mandible morphology.
Typhlomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae and the sole member of the tribe Typhlomyrmecini. Known from the Neotropics, the genus has a wide distribution. Some species are restricted in range, while for example Typhlomyrmex rogenhoferi is known from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Little is known about their biology.
Leptanilloides is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Leptanilloides is an uncommonly collected genus with subterranean habits in the New World Andean and sub-Andean tropics.
Sphinctomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. The genus is a pantropical and distinctive group, originally described by Mayr based on a single gyne collected in Brazil. Morphologically, the genus is characterized by the unique arrangement of the gastric segments, which are nearly equal in length and separated from each other by distinct constrictions. Very little is known on the natural history of Sphinctomyrmex. The few observations so far suggest that ants of this genus are nomadic predators of other ants.
Daceton is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus contains only two species: D. armigerum, the most studied species, distributed throughout northern South America, and D. boltoni, known from Brazil and Peru.
Melissotarsus is a rare African genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. They are known from the Afrotropics and Malagasy regions, where their nests are located in living wood, built by tunneling through the wood under the bark. They are rarely seen outside of their nests, which may contribute to their perceived rarity. However, they are considered pest insects because of damage they can cause to trees, including economically important ones such as mangos and trees in the family Burseraceae, including Aucoumea klaineana, Dacryodes buettneri, and Dacryodes edulis.
Gigantiops is a South American genus of jumping ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains the single species Gigantiops destructor, which is also the sole member of the tribe Gigantiopini. They have the largest eyes among all ants, are known for their ability to jump, and have the highest number of chromosomes of any member of the subfamily Formicinae (2n=78).
Daceton armigerum is a Neotropical species of arboreal ants, distributed throughout northern South America. D. armigerum combines several traits generally noted in some other arboreal ants i.e., populous colonies, large and/or polydomous nests, intra- and interspecific aggressiveness, trophobiosis, and capturing prey by spread-eagling them.
Sphinctomyrmex marcoyi is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. It is the only Sphinctomyrmex species recorded in the Amazon Forest. Gynes and males are unknown.
Sphinctomyrmex schoerederi is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. S. schoerederi is known only from the holotype, collected in a leaf litter sample from a forest remnant in the campus of Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil, where it occurs in sympatry with S. stali. Gynes and males are unknown.
Azteca alpha is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Dolichoderinae known from possibly Miocene fossils found on Hispaniola. A. alpha is one of only two species in the genus Azteca to have been described from fossils, both found in Dominican amber. It is the host for a fossil nematode, and has been preserved with scale insects.
