Myrmicinae

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Myrmicinae
Temporal range: Turonian–Recent
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Atta cephalotes
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835
Type genus
Myrmica
Latreiile, 1804
Diversity [1]
142 genera

Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; [1] their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and in soil, rotting wood, under stones, or in trees. [2]

Contents

Identification

Myrmicine worker ants have a distinct postpetiole, i.e., abdominal segment III is notably smaller than segment IV and set off from it by a well-developed constriction; the pronotum is inflexibly fused to the rest of the mesosoma, such that the promesonotal suture is weakly impressed or absent, and a functional sting is usually present. The clypeus is well-developed; as a result, the antennal sockets are well separated from the anterior margin of the head. Most myrmicine genera possess well-developed eyes and frontal lobes that partly conceal the antennal insertions. [3]

Tribes

Recently, the number of tribes was reduced from 25 to six: [4]

Genera

In 2014, most genera were placed into different tribes or moved to other subfamilies. Below is an updated list: [1] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Formicinae</span> Subfamily of ants

The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponerinae</span> Subfamily of ants

Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolichoderinae</span> Subfamily of ants

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 realms, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions.

<i>Aphaenogaster</i> Genus of ants

Aphaenogaster is a genus of myrmicine ants. About 200 species have been described, including 18 fossil species. They occur worldwide except in South America south of Colombia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Antarctica.

<i>Plagiolepis</i> Genus of ants

Plagiolepis is an ant genus of the formic acid-producing subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found in tropical and temperate regions of the Old World.

<i>Tetramorium</i> Genus of ants

Tetramorium is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species. These ants are also known as pavement ants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crematogastrini</span> Tribe of ants

Crematogastrini is a tribe of myrmicine ants with 64 genera and 8 fossil genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solenopsidini</span> Tribe of ants

Solenopsidini is a tribe of myrmicine ants with about 20 genera.

<i>Hypoponera</i> Genus of ants

Hypoponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution and is found in all continents except Antarctica.

<i>Dolichoderus</i> Genus of ants

Dolichoderus is a genus of ants found worldwide.

<i>Proceratium</i> Genus of ants

Proceratium is a rare genus of ants in the subfamily Proceratiinae. It is the type genus of the tribe Proceratiini, which in addition to Proceratium consists of two even rarer genera: the extant Discothyrea and the fossil genus Bradoponera.

<i>Gnamptogenys</i> Genus of insects

Gnamptogenys is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae. The genus has a wide distribution. It is known to occur in the Nearctic, Neotropic, Indomalayan and Australasian realms.

<i>Cataulacus</i> Genus of ants

Cataulacus is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is distributed in the Paleotropical regions, mainly in the Afrotropics. Most species are found in forests, but a few are known from more open and arid habitats.

<i>Carebara</i> Genus of ants

Carebara is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is one of the largest myrmicine genera with more than 200 species distributed worldwide in the tropics and the Afrotropical region. Many of them are very tiny cryptic soil and leaf-litter inhabitants. They nest in rotten wood to which the bark is still adherent in the Afrotropical region, or may be lestobiotic nesting near other ant species. Some species are known to exist parasitically within termite nests. Little is known about the biology of the genus, but they are notable for the vast difference in size between queens and workers.

<i>Pristomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Pristomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.

<i>Trichomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Trichomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Described by Mayr in 1865, it was raised as a genus in 2015. These ants are endemic to multiple continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponerini</span> Tribe of ants

Ponerini is a tribe of Ponerinae ants with 46 genera and 6 extinct genera.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bolton, B. (2014). "Myrmicinae". AntCat. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. Goulet, H & Huber, JT (eds.) (1993) Hymenoptera of the world: an identification guide to families. Agriculture Canada. p. 224
  3. "Subfamily: Myrmicinae". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 Ward, Philip S.; Brady, Sean G.; Fisher, Brian L.; Schultz, Ted R. (July 2014). "The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Systematic Entomology. 40 (1): 61–81. doi:10.1111/syen.12090. ISSN   1365-3113. S2CID   83986771.