| Leptomyrmex melanoticus | |
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| Species: | L. melanoticus |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptomyrmex melanoticus Wheeler, W.M., 1934 | |
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Leptomyrmex melanoticus is a species of ant in the genus Leptomyrmex . Described by William Morton Wheeler in 1934, the species is endemic to New Guinea. [1]
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the Cretaceous period, about 140 million years ago, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.
Leptomyrmex, or spider ants, is a genus of ants and a distinctive member of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae. Commonly known as "spider ants" for their long legs and spider-like movements, these orange and black ants are prominent residents of intact wet forest and sclerophyll habitats throughout their range. One extant species, Leptomyrmex relictus, is known from central Brazil; otherwise, the global distribution of this genus is restricted to eastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Guinea, as well as the nearby Indonesian islands of Aru and Seram.
William Morton Wheeler was an American entomologist, myrmecologist and Harvard professor.
