Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.
Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus Solenopsis, which includes over 200 species. Solenopsis are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the names shared by this genus are often used interchangeably to refer to other species of ant, such as the term red ant, mostly because of their similar coloration despite not being in the genus Solenopsis. Both Myrmica rubra and Pogonomyrmex barbatus are common examples of non-Solenopsis ants being termed red ants.
Formiciinae is an extinct subfamily of ants known from Eocene deposits in Europe and North America.
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies, with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
The Leptotyphlopidae are a family of snakes found in North America, South America, Africa and Asia. All are fossorial and adapted to burrowing, feeding on ants and termites. Two subfamilies are recognized.
The Phoridae are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking flight. This behaviour is a source of one of their alternate names, scuttle fly. Another vernacular name, coffin fly, refers to Conicera tibialis. About 4,000 species are known in 230 genera. The most well-known species is cosmopolitan Megaselia scalaris. At 0.4 mm in length, the world's smallest fly is the phorid Euryplatea nanaknihali.
Carpenter ants are large ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
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.
Formicium is an extinct collective genus of giant ants in the Formicidae subfamily Formiciinae. The genus currently contains three species, Formicium berryi, Formicium brodiei, and Formicium mirabile. All three species were described from Eocene aged sediments.
Dorymyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae.
Plagiolepidini are an ant tribe from the subfamily Formicinae.
The Myrmecophagidae are a family of anteaters, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek words for 'ant' and 'eat'. Two genera and three species are in the family, consisting of the giant anteater, and the tamanduas. The fossil Eurotamandua from the Messel Pit in Germany may be an early anteater, but its status is currently debated.
Iridomyrmex is a genus of ants called rainbow ants first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae. It has 79 described species and five fossil species. Most of these ants are native to Australia; others are found in Asia and Oceania, and they have been introduced to Brazil, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates. Fossil species are known from China, France, and the United States.
Monomorium is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. As of 2013 it contains about 396 species. It is distributed around the world, with many species native to the Old World tropics. It is considered to be "one of the more important groups of ants," considering its widespread distribution, its diversity, and its variety of morphological and biological characteristics. It also includes several familiar pest species, such as the pharaoh ant and the flower ant.
Myrmoxenus is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus was synonymized under Temnothorax by Ward et al. (2015), but the change was not accepted by Heinze et al. (2015) due to insufficient available data.
Liometopum is a genus of ants that belongs to the subfamily Dolichoderinae, found in North America, Europe and Asia.
Titanomyrma is a genus of extinct giant ants which lived during the Eocene. The type species Titanomyrma gigantea and the smaller Titanomyrma simillima are known from the Eocene of Germany, while the third species Titanomyrma lubei, is known from Wyoming, United States. The presence of Titanomyrma in North America was considered to indicate "the first reported cross-Arctic dispersal by a thermophilic insect group". However a queen reported from Upland temperate shales in British Columbia raised questions on the exact thermophilic nature of the genus. The type species of this genus, T. gigantea, is the largest-known fossil or extant species of ant in the world.
Aphomomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. It contains the single species Aphomomyrmex afer, known from Africa. The genus is closely related to Petalomyrmex.
Paraponera is a genus of ants and the only genus in the subfamily Paraponerinae. The name means "near-Ponera".
