Proformica

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Proformica
Proformica nasuta casent0101912 profile 1.jpg
P. nasuta worker from Spain
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Proformica

Ruzsky, 1902
Type species
Formica nasuta
Diversity [1]
25 species

Proformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. [2] The genus is known from the Palearctic realm, from Mongolia through Central Asia to Spain. Colonies are small, generally containing a few hundred individuals, with a single queen (monogyne) or multiple ergatogyne queens. Unique in the tribe Formicini, some species have specialized workers ("honeypot ants") gorged with food; they function as living storage containers. [3]

Contents

Parasite host

Four species are host to obligate slave-making ants in the genus Rossomyrmex , with each species forming a coevolving pair: [4]

Species

See also

Related Research Articles

Formicinae Subfamily of ants

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

Ponerinae Subfamily of ants

Ponerinae 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. Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants within the family of Formicidae. These ants typically nest in soil, forest litter, or rotting logs, and are predacious. They primarily prey on isopods. They mostly live in small colonies of up to 200 workers. They can be found mostly in tropical environments, but have been found in southeastern Canada and New York. Female workers have twelve segmented antennae, whereas male workers have 13 segmented antennae.

<i>Messor</i> Genus of ants

Messor is a myrmicine genus of ants with more than 100 species, all of which are harvester ants; the generic name comes from the Roman god of crops and harvest, Messor. The subterranean colonies tend to be found in open fields and near roadsides, openings are directly to the surface.

Myrmicinae subfamily of ants with cosmopolitan distribution whose pupae do not create cocoons

Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; 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.

Dolichoderinae 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>Tapinoma</i> Genus of ants

Tapinoma is a genus of ants that belongs to the subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus currently comprises 74 described species distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. Members of are generalized foragers, nesting in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from grasslands, open fields, woodlands, to inside buildings. The majority of species nest in the ground under objects such as stones or tree logs, other species build nests under bark of logs and stumps, in plant cavities, insect galls or refuse piles.

<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>Rossomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Rossomyrmex is a genus of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus consists of four species, each with a single host from the genus Proformica, and has a very wide range of distribution from China to southeastern Spain, from huge extended plains to the top of high mountains.

<i>Tetramorium</i> Genus of ants

Tetramorium is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species.

<i>Dolichoderus</i> Genus of ants

Dolichoderus is a genus of ants found worldwide.

Formicini Tribe of ants

Formicini is a tribe of ants in the subfamily Formicinae.

<i>Cerapachys</i> Genus of ants

Cerapachys is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Species are mainly myrmecophagous ants which raid the nests of other ants for prey. The genus is distributed widely throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with the majority of species known from the Indo-Australian region.

<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 174 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 species. However, they are notable for the vast difference in size between queens and workers.

<i>Lepisiota</i> Genus of ants

Lepisiota is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. They nest in rotten wood, in standing trees or in the ground, generally in less forested areas.

<i>Bajcaridris</i> Genus of ants

Bajcaridris is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. Its three species are known from northern Africa. B. theryi inhabits the meadows of the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, and B. kraussii and B. menozzii inhabit the wadis of the northern Sahara in Algeria.

<i>Alloformica</i> Genus of ants

Alloformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus was first described as a subgenus of Proformica by Dlussky (1969), later to be synonymized under Proformica by Brown (1973), and finally revived and raised to genus rank by Dlussky & Fedoseeva (1988). Its species are known only from a few localities.

References

  1. Bolton, B. (2014). "Proformica". AntCat. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. "Genus: Proformica". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. Agosti, D. (1994). "The phylogeny of the ant tribe Formicini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with the description of a new genus". Systematic Entomology. 19 (2): 93–117. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1994.tb00581.x. S2CID   83590673.
  4. Ruano, F.; Sanllorente, O.; Lenoir, A.; Tinaut, A. (2013), "Rossomyrmex, the Slave-Maker Ants from the Arid Steppe Environments", Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 2013: 1–7, doi: 10.1155/2013/541804