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The name army ant (or legionary ant or marabunta) is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited area.
Eciton hamatum is a species of army ant in the subfamily Dorylinae; it is found from Mexico to central Brazil and Bolivia. The species differs from Eciton burchellii, in that it does not fan out into the underbrush when foraging. Rather, it forages in columns, often in trees and preying exclusively on the larvae of other social insects. Its prey are often broods of vespid wasps and ants of genera Dolichoderus and Camponotus, suggesting that E. hamatum is mainly an arboreal forager.
Eciton is a New World army ant genus that contains the most familiar species of army ants. The most predominant and well-known species is Eciton burchellii, which is also more commonly known as the army ant and is considered the type species.
Eciton vagans is a species of New World army ant in the genus Eciton. It occurs in dry and wet forest habitats, occupying a range extending from Mexico to throughout Costa Rica and possibly Panama and Colombia. Raids are always in columns and are distinguished in being usually nocturnal; preferred prey commonly include other ants. It is closely related to the Eciton burchellii species.
Eciton mexicanum is a species of New World army ant in the genus Eciton. Present from Mexico to throughout Costa Rica and northern Argentina, it is found in dry and wet forests in sea level to montane areas. Raids always occur in columns, tending to be usually nocturnal but are sometimes also encountered during the day. It is closely related to the Eciton burchellii species.
Cyphomyrmex is a genus of fungus-growing ants found primarily in South and Central America. However, some species do come up to the southern portion of North America. They grow a variety of fungi in the tribe Leucocoprineae. Most fungal gardens are grown in small nodules, some species to cultivate entire mycelium, though. Colonies are monogynous and are relatively small with about 100 workers on average.
Carl W. Rettenmeyer was an American biologist who specialised in army ants. He was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and later attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He first became interested in army ants when he visited Panama as an undergraduate and then returned there as a postgraduate. Although he studied many aspects of army ant biology, he particularly focused on the animals associated with the ants and especially mites which live on the ants. He was well known for his photography of army ants, with his photographs appearing in over 100 publications, and he used his video footage to create two DVDs. He taught at the University of Kansas from 1960 until 1971 and then at the University of Connecticut until his retirement in 1996, after being diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. After his death in 2009, a set of papers on army ants were published in Insectes Sociaux in memory of his work.
Neivamyrmex is a genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae.
Adelomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Species of Adelomyrmex are small, litter-inhabiting ants most often collected in Berlese and Winkler samples. Although the genus and its relatives have a pantropical distribution, Central American cloud forests are the only places where they are abundant and diverse.
Lenomyrmex is a Neotropical genus of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Megalomyrmex mondabora is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Known from Costa Rica. In Costa Rica this species occurs in wet forest habitats, typically in mature rainforest. Collections are from sea level to 800 m elevation on the Atlantic slope of the Cordillera Volcanica Central, Cordillera de Talamanca, and Cordillera de Guanacaste. It is a specialized nest parasite of attines and is found most often in nests of Cyphomyrmex cornutus. It cohabits with C. cornutus in their nests, feeding on both host brood and the host's fungal symbiont.
Megalomyrmex mondaboroides is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Megalomyrmex mondaboroides occurs in lowland wet forest habitats in Panama and Costa Rica. Colonies have been collected in the nests of small attines, primarily Cyphomyrmex costatus and Apterostigma goniodes. In Costa Rica a worker was collected in a Winkler sample of sifted leaf litter.
Megalomyrmex wallacei is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Megalomyrmex wallacei can be found in Brazil, Guyana, Colombia, Costa Rica. This species occurs in mature wet forest, usually low-elevation rainforest. Brandão (2003) reports the species nesting under leaves on the forest floor, in colonies of up to 300 workers.
Megalomyrmex modestus is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Known from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela.
Megalomyrmex foreli is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Megalomyrmex incisus is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The species is known from southern Mexico south to central Brazil and Peru.
Megalomyrmex miri is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Known from Costa Rica. This species is known only from the type specimens and has no biological data. It is extremely similar to M. wettereri in color, size, shape, measurements, and pilosity. It differs in having a complete foraminal carina and some transverse rugosities on the anteroventral petiolar process.
Megalomyrmex wettereri is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Megalomyrmex wettereri is known from two lowland rainforest sites: Barro Colorado Island in Panama and La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Megalomyrmex silvestrii is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Megalomyrmex silvestrii is widespread in the mainland Neotropics from Mexico to northern Argentina. This species occurs in moist to wet forest habitats, from sea level to 1100 m elevation. It nests in small chambers in rotten wood or opportunistically in other small cavities in the soil. Colonies have been found in small attine nests and alone, suggesting it is a facultative predator of small Attini.
Nymphister kronaueri is a species of histerid beetle native to Costa Rica. It was first discovered in 2014. The discovery of the beetle received much media attention due to its unusual habit of hitchhiking on army ants. It was formally described in 2017.
References
- ↑ Norton, Edward (1868). "Remarks by Edward Norton. The species of Eciton forwarded by Prof. Sumichrast may be temporarily classified as follows". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 2: 44–46.
- ↑ Bolton, Barry. "Neivamyrmex sumichrasti - AntCat". antcat.org. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 3 Longino, John T. (2005). "Neivamyrmex sumichrasti (Norton 1868)". John T. Longino: Specializing in Neotropical Myrmecology. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- 1 2 Quiroz Robledo, Luis N.; Valenzuela González, Jorge (2014-03-18). "Las hormigas Ecitoninae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Morelos, México". Revista de Biología Tropical (in Spanish). 54 (2): 531. doi:10.15517/rbt.v54i2.13918. ISSN 2215-2075.
- 1 2 3 4 Akre, Roger D.; Rettenmeyer, Carl W. (1966). "Behavior of Staphylinidae Associated with Army Ants (Formicidae: Ecitonini)". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 39 (4): 745–782. ISSN 0022-8567. JSTOR 25083583.
- ↑ Monteverde: Ecology and Conservation of a Tropical Cloud Forest. Nalini Nadkarni, Nathaniel T. Wheelwright. New York: Oxford University Press. 2000. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-19-977097-7. OCLC 777576758.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ↑ Bulova, S.; Purce, K.; Khodak, P.; Sulger, E.; O’Donnell, S. (2016). "Into the black and back: the ecology of brain investment in Neotropical army ants (Formicidae: Dorylinae)". The Science of Nature. 103 (3–4): 31. Bibcode:2016SciNa.103...31B. doi:10.1007/s00114-016-1353-4. ISSN 0028-1042. PMID 26956233. S2CID 253637085.