Overview
Insect. An incredibly successful colonizer capable of invading both disturbed and undisturbed habitat , the Argentine ant can produce large numbers of aggressive workers. It is an economic and ecological pest, affecting agriculture, displacing native arthropods , and potentially altering ecosystem processes. It has formed the world's largest colony in South Europe, where it´s invasive.
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Argentine Ant
Common Names in German:
Argentinische Ameise
Common Names in Portuguese:
Formiga-Argentina
Description
Physical Description
Species Linepithema humile
Member of the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Workers of this species are small, medium to dark brown ants , reaching 2 to 3 mm in length . Body surface is smooth and shiny and lacks hairs on the dorsum of the head and thorax. The petiole is composed of a single, scale-like segment, and sting is absent. Workers are extremely fast moving and industrious, often recruiting in high numbers.
Habitat
As this species is very widely distributed, information listed on this site pertaining to invaded habitat types around the world is likely incomplete or in some cases inaccurate. We invite the numerous researchers working with this species worldwide to rectify any omissions or inaccuracies.
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 4,653 meters (0 to 15,266 feet).[1]
Ecology: In favorable habitat , the Argentine ant can reach high densities and exclude nearly all native and introduced ant species (e.g. Majer, 1994; Cammell et al., 1996, Human and Gordon, 1996; Holway, 1998), substantially reduce non-ant arthropod abundances (Cole et al., 1992; Human and Gordon, 1997), and potentially alter ecosystem-level processes such as seed dispersal and plant pollination (Christian, 2001; Cole et al., 1992; Visser et al., 1996).
Biology
Reproduction
Sexual, haplodiploid system
.Varies according to environmental conditions
and probably demographic
factors
.
Virgin queens are believed to mate in the nest
and disperse through
budding rather than participating in a nuptial
flight, resulting
in the formation of large, many-queened, cooperating unicolonies
(Markin, 1968). Queens may be executed by workers after one year
and replaced by newly mated queens (Markin, 1970; Keller et
al., 1989).
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Superorder:
Hymenopterida
()
- Order:
Hymenoptera
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Suborder:
Apocrita
()
- Superfamily:
Vespoidea
()
- Family:
Formicidae
()
- Latreille, 1809
- Subfamily:
Dolichoderinae
()
- Tribe:
Leptomyrmecini
()
- Genus:
Linepithema
()
- Mayr, 1866
- Specific name:
humile
- (Emery, 1894)
- Scientific name: - Linepithema humile (Emery, 1894)
- Specific name:
humile
- (Emery, 1894)
- Genus:
Linepithema
(
- Tribe:
Leptomyrmecini
(
- Subfamily:
Dolichoderinae
(
- Family:
Formicidae
(
- Superfamily:
Vespoidea
(
- Suborder:
Apocrita
(
- Order:
Hymenoptera
(
- Superorder:
Hymenopterida
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Synonyms
Iridomyrmex humilis (Mayr
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 26-Jun-2001
Similar Species
Members of the genus Linepithema
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species and subspecies in this genus:
L. humile (Argentine Ant) · L. humile humile (Argentine Ant)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url , p. 529, p. 64.
- Journal of Hymenoptera research. Washington, D.C.: International Society of Hymenopterists, [1992- url p. 73, p. 93.
- The Cost of Policy Inaction: The case of not meeting the 2010 biodiversity target European Commission url p. 126, p. 296.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 6 providers.
- ISSG Global Invasive Species Database (http://www.issg.org/database)
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology: Australian National Insect Collection
- California Academy of Sciences: AntWeb Collection Catalog
- GBIF-Sweden: Bugs (GBIF-SE:Artdatabanken)
- Illinois Natural History Survey
- Ohio State University Insect Collection: Insects
- OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 1904336
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-586640
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 575041
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 17564
Footnotes
- Mean = 47.130 meters (154.626 feet), Standard Deviation = 1,238.080 based on 212 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
