Lasius is a genus of formicine ants. The type species for this genus is the black garden ant, Lasius niger. Other major members, which live in drier heathland, are the cornfield ant, L. neoniger, and L. alienus. Other species include the temporary social parasites of the L. mixtus group and the hyper-social parasite Lasius fuliginosus. Lasius flavus is also a commonly seen species, building grassy hillocks in undisturbed pasture. In the Alps, these mounds - always aligned east to catch the first rays of the rising sun - have been traditionally used by goatherds as natural compasses.
The name army ant (or legionary ant or marabunta) is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area.
Crematogaster is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are also known as cocktail ants because of their habit of raising their abdomens when alarmed. Most species are arboreal. These ants are sometimes known as acrobat ants.
Leptanillinae is a subfamily of ants. They are further divided into the tribes Anomalomyrmini and Leptanillini.
Leptanilla is a genus of ant in the subfamily Leptanillinae. Like other genera in this subfamily, the queen is fed by the hemolymph of their own larvae, which have specialized processes for this purpose.
Leptanilla japonica is an uncommon highly migratory, subterranean ant found in Japan. They are tiny insects, with workers measuring about 1.2 mm and queens reaching to about 1.8 mm, and live in very small colonies of only a few hundred individuals at a time Its sexual development follows a seasonal cycle that affects the colony's migration and feeding habits, and vice versa. L. japonica exhibits specialized predation, with prey consisting mainly of geophilomorph centipedes, a less reliable food source that also contributes to their high rate of nest migration. Like ants of genera Amblyopone and Proceratium, the genus Leptanilla engages in larval hemolymph feeding (LHF), with the queen using no other form of sustenance. LHF is an advantageous alternative to the more costly cannibalism. Unlike any other ant, however, members of Leptanilla, including L. japonica, have evolved a specialized organ dubbed the “larval hemolymph tap” that reduces the damage LHF inflicts on the larvae. LHF has become this species' main form of nutrition.
Agroecomyrmecinae is a subfamily of ants containing two extant and two fossil genera. The subfamily was originally classified in 1930 by Carpenter as Agroecomyrmecini, a Myrmicinae tribe. Bolton raised the tribe to subfamily status in 2003, suggesting that Agroecomyrmecinae might be the sister taxon to Myrmicinae. It has since been discovered to be one of the earliest lineages of ants, a clade from the basal polytomy for all ants. In 2014, the subfamily was expanded to two tribes. The tribe Ankylomyrmini was moved from the subfamily Myrmicinae to Agroemyrmecinae.
Eulithomyrmex is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Agroecomyrmecinae. The genus contains two described species, Eulithomyrmex rugosus and Eulithomyrmex striatus. Eulithomyrmex is known from a group of Late Eocene fossils which were found in North America.
Yavnella is a genus of ants in the subfamily Leptanillinae. Its two species are distributed in India and Israel. The genus is known only from male specimens.
Anomalomyrma is an Asian genus of ants in the subfamily Leptanillinae. The genus was originally described in 1990 with the type species Anomalomyrma taylori, based on a single dealate queen from Borneo. Workers were unknown until 2011, when two new species were described from Peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines.
Protanilla is a genus of ants in the subfamily Leptanillinae. Known from the Indomalaya ecozone, the genus contains eight species and at least one formally undescribed species, P. wallacei. The genus was erected by Taylor (1990) for the type species P. rafflesi, described from workers from Peninsular Malaysia. Four species are known from China, one from Taiwan, one from Sri Lanka and one from India.
Leptanillini is a tribe of Leptanillinae ants with three extant genera.
Furcotanilla is a genus of ants in the subfamily Leptanillinae containing the single species Furcotanilla furcomandibula. The genus is close to Protanilla, from where the type species Protanilla furcomandibula was transferred from by Xu (2012). Its only species is known from Yunnan, China, where it nests in the soil and forages on the ground. Queens and males are unknown.
Yavnella argamani is a species of ant belonging to the Yavnella ant genus. Described by Kugler in 1987, it is one of the two species in its genus. It is native to Israel.
Yavnella argamani is a species of ant belonging to the Yavnella ant genus. The species was described by Kugler in 1987, it is one of the two species in its genus. It is native to India.
Noonilla is a genus of ants of uncertain placement in the family Formicidae. It contains the single species Noonilla copiosa, first described by Petersen in 1968 based on male specimen from the Philippines. Noonilla was initially placed in the subfamily Leptanillinae, but was later removed from the subfamily when Ogata, Terayama & Masuko (1995) reviewed the genus, leaving the genus incertae sedis in the family.
Leptanilla swani is a species of ant in the genus Leptanilla. Described by William Morton Wheeler in 1932, the species is endemic to Australia, and the only species of the genus Leptanilla to be found there. Workers are pale in colour, measuring 1.3 to 5 millimetres while queens are larger at 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long.
Leptanilla macauensis is a species of ant in the genus Leptanilla. Chi-Man Leong (梁志文), an undergraduate student at National Taiwan University at the time, first collected specimens of this species. The species was subsequently formally described by Leong, Yamane & Guénard in 2018, the species is only known from specimens collected from Macau by means of a Winkler extractor. Workers are yellowish brown in colour, measuring 1.12 to 1.14 millimetres. The queen has yet to be described.
