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Formicinae

(Subfamily)

Overview

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

Formicines retain some primitive features such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and little tendency toward reduction of palp or antennal segmentation in most species, except groups. Extreme modification of mandibles is rare, except in the genera Myrmoteras and Polyergus. On the other hand, some members show considerable evolutionary advancement in behaviors such as slave-making and symbiosis with root-feeding homopterans. Finally, all formicines have a very reduced sting and enlarged venom reservoir, with the venom gland, specialized (uniquely among ants) for the production of formic acid.[]

All members of the Formicinae "have a one-segmented petiole in the form of a vertical scale".[1]

Classification

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The tribal structure of Formicinae is not completely understood. This list follows the scheme at antbase.org, but there are other schemes and names.

toward reduction of palp or antennal segmentation in most species, except groups. Extreme modification of mandibles is rare, except in the genera Myrmoteras and Polyergus. On the other hand, some members show considerable evolutionary advancement in behaviors such as slave-making and symbiosis with root-feeding homopterans. Finally, all formicines have a very reduced sting and enlarged venom reservoir, with the venom gland, specialized (uniquely among ants) for the production of formic acid.[]

All members of the Formicinae "have a one-segmented petiole in the form of a vertical scale".[1]

Classification

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The tribal structure of Formicinae is not completely understood. This list follows the scheme at antbase.org, but there are other schemes and names.

References

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Notes

  1. ^ Klotz, 2008: p. 11

Bibliography

External links

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Taxonomy

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The Subfamily Formicinae is a member of the Family Formicidae. Here is the complete "parentage" of Formicinae:

The Subfamily Formicinae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

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Acropyga

Acropyga is a genus of small formicine ants. [more]

Agraulomyrmex

[more]

Alloformica

[more]

Anoplolepis

Anoplolepis is a genus of ant in the family Formicidae. [more]

Aphomomyrmex

[more]

Bajcaridris

[more]

Brachymyrmex

[more]

Bregmatomyrma

[more]

Calomyrmex

[more]

Camponotites

[more]

Camponotus

Carpenter ants are large (.25 to 1 in/0.64 to 2.5 cm) ants indigenous to many parts of the world. They prefer dead, damp wood in which to build nests. They do not eat it, however, unlike termites. Sometimes carpenter ants will hollow out sections of trees. The most likely species to be infesting a house in the United States is the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus). However, there are over a thousand other species in the genus Camponotus. [more]

Cataglyphis

Cataglyphis is a genus of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. Its most famous species is C. bicolor, the Sahara Desert ant, which runs on hot sand to find insects that died of heat exhaustion, and can sustain body temperatures of up to 50?C. [more]

Chimaeromyrma

[more]

Cladomyrma

[more]

Echinopla

[more]

Euprenolepis

[more]

Forelophilus

[more]

Gesomyrmex

[more]

Gigantiops

[more]

Glaphyromyrmex

[more]

Imhoffia

[more]

Kyromyrma

[more]

Lasiophanes

[more]

Lasius

Lasius is a genus of boreal formicine ants. [more]

Lepisiota

[more]

Leucotaphus

[more]

Melophorus

[more]

Myrmecocystus

[more]

Myrmecorhynchus

[more]

Myrmelachista

[more]

Myrmoteras

[more]

Notoncus

[more]

Notostigma

[more]

Oecophylla

Weaver ants or Green ants (genus Oecophylla) are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae (order Hymenoptera). Weaver ants are obligately arboreal and are known for their unique nest building behaviour where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk. Colonies can be extremely large consisting of more than a hundred nests spanning numerous trees and contain more than half a million workers. Like many other ant species, weaver ants prey on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate-rich honeydew excreted by small insects (Hemiptera). Oecophylla workers exhibit a clear bimodal size distribution, with almost no overlap between the size of the minor and major workers. The major workers are approximately eight to ten millimeters in length and the minors approximately half the length of the majors. There is a division of labour associated with the size difference between workers. Major workers forage, defend, maintain and expand the colony whereas minor workers tend to stay within the nests where they care for the brood and 'milk' scale insects in or close to the nests. Oecophylla weaver ants vary in color from reddish to yellowish brown dependent on the species. Oecophylla smaragdina found in Australia often have bright green gasters. These ants are highly territorial and workers aggressively defend their territories against intruders. Because of their aggressive behaviour, weaver ants are sometime used by indigenous farmers, particularly in southeast Asia, as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests. Although Oecophylla weaver ants lack a functional sting they can inflict painful bites and often spray formic acid directly at the bite wound resulting in intense discomfort. [more]

Opisthopsis

[more]

Overbeckia

[more]

Paratrechina

Paratrechina is an ant genus from the subfamily Formicinae (Tribe Plagiolepidini). There are over 150 described species and subspecies, some of which occur on every continent (except Antarctica). They form large colonies in open soil or under rocks or other objects, or in rotten wood on the ground. [more]

Petalomyrmex

[more]

Phasmomyrmex

[more]

Plagiolepis

Plagiolepis is an genus of the formic acid-producing subfamily Formicinae. [more]

Polyergus

Polyergus, also called Amazon ants, is a small genus of 6 described species (and several possible undescribed species) of "" ants. Its workers are incapable of caring for brood, in part due to their dagger-like, piercing mandibles, but more importantly, because in the evolution of their parasitism, they have lost the "behavioral wiring" to carry out even rudimentary brood care, or even to feed themselves. Polyergus species subsist solely as a specialized brood-acquiring caste, maintaining a worker force by robbing brood of particular species in the closely related genus Formica in massive colony-to-colony raids. The captured ants are generally referred to as "slaves" in scientific and popular literature, though recent attempts have been made to apply other human cultural models, such as describing the Polyergus individuals of a colony as "raiders" or "pirates" and the Formica workers as "helper-ants", or "domesticated animals". Biologists describe the system simply as social parsitism by Polyergus on the host Formica species. [more]

Polyrhachis

[more]

Prenolepis

[more]

Prodimorphomyrmex

[more]

Proformica

[more]

Prolasius

[more]

Protoformica

[more]

Protrechina

[more]

Pseudocamponotus

[more]

Pseudolasius

[more]

Pseudonotoncus

[more]

Raptiformica

[more]

Rossomyrmex

[more]

Santschiella

[more]

Serviformica

[more]

Sicilomyrmex

[more]

Stigmacros

[more]

Tapinolepis

Teratomyrmex

[more]

More info about the Genus Teratomyrmex may be found here.

References

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Notes

  1. ^ Klotz, 2008: p. 11

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:47:47