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''Polyergus'' is a small
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of
Formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type species of genus ' ...
) for workers.


Reproduction

''Polyergus'' workers are incapable of caring for brood, for the most part due to their dagger-like, piercing
mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...
s. As such, they have evolved to rely on certain species of ants in the genus ''
Formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type species of genus ' ...
''. They have lost the instinct for carrying out even rudimentary brood care, and even for feeding themselves (which they are unable to do). ''Polyergus'' 'workers' exist more as a force of improvised soldiers, acting in essence solely to raid the ''Formica'' nests. 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. Some of these describe the ''Polyergus'' as "raiders", "pirates", or "kidnappers". They also describe the ''Formica'' workers as "helper-ants" or "domesticated animals". ''Polyergus'' obtains its ''Formica'' work force by stealing pupae from nearby ''Formica'' colonies and carrying them back to its own nest. Back in the ''Polyergus'' nest, ''Formica'' workers are eventually helped to emerge from the cocoons and pupal exuvia by workers of the same species already living there. The new workers quickly assimilate the characteristic odor of the mixed-species colony — without violence or coercion. The ''Formica'' workers that emerge in the mixed-species colony go on to nurse the brood, forage, maintain the nest, feed their adult captors and the queen, and perform other colony upkeep duties. This may also include defending the Polyergus colony from foreign threats, even fighting against their own birth colony if the situation arises. As far as is known, all established ''Polyergus'' colonies have only one queen. However, many contain
ergatoid An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + ''-oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gynes. ...
s, large, worker-like members with large gasters. These may be substitute reproductive individuals after the queen's death, but this has not been proven. To found a new colony, a lone ''Polyergus'' queen invades a nest of the host species, or encounters and moves in with a colony-founding queen of the host species and her first few workers. In the latter case, the host queen is allowed to survive until her little colony has reared a sufficient number of host workers to support the parasite queen, something the ''Polyergus'' queen cannot do herself. The young ''Polyergus'' queen then kills the existing ''Formica'' queen (immediately if sufficient workers are present, later if these are not yet reared) and becomes accepted by the ''Formica'' workers. These proceed to rear the first and all subsequent ''Polyergus'' brood. Clearly, this complicated and lengthy process often fails, as ''Polyergus'' colonies are relatively rare, though each mature colony produces dozens or hundreds of new potential queens each year. To counteract the natural mortality of the ''Formica'' worker population, ''Polyergus'' workers must conduct regular raids over a 6-8 week period, every summer over the 10- to 15-year lifespan of their colony.


Species

The genus ''Polyergus'' is split up into three groups, or "complexes". There's the ''lucidus'' group, the ''rufescens'' group, and the ''samurai'' group.


''lucidus'' group

* '' Polyergus lucidus'' Mayr, 1870 – eastern United States, southern Ontario * '' Polyergus longicornis'' Smith, 1947 – southeastern United States * '' Polyergus montivagus'' Wheeler, 1915 – New England states to northern Florida in eastern United States, southern Ontario, Canada and west to Wisconsin and northern New Mexico, United States * '' Polyergus oligergus'' Trager, 2013 – Florida, United States * '' Polyergus ruber'' Trager, 2013 – southeastern United States * ''
Polyergus sanwaldi ''Polyergus'' is a small genus of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of Formica) for workers. Reproduction ''Po ...
'' Trager, 2013 – United States, New England west to North Dakota


''rufescens'' group

* ''
Polyergus rufescens ''Polyergus rufescens'' is a species of slave-making ant native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, commonly referred to as the European Amazon ant or as the slave-making ant. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or lo ...
'' (Latreille, 1798) – all of Europe, to western China and Kazakhstan * ''
Polyergus breviceps ''Polyergus breviceps'' is a species of ant endemic to the United States. It is a social parasite of other ants, namely of '' Formica gnava'' but also of '' Formica occulta'' and '' Formica argentea''. ''Polyergus'' is an inquiline parasite, ha ...
'' Emery, 1893 – north-central United States, west to Colorado, northern Arizona * ''
Polyergus bicolor ''Polyergus'' is a small genus of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of Formica) for workers. Reproduction ''Po ...
'' Wasmann, 1901 – Wisconsin and Michigan, United States, west to North Dakota and south-central Canada * ''
Polyergus mexicanus ''Polyergus mexicanus'' is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is the most widely distributed species of '' Polyergus'' in North America. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the col ...
'' Forel, 1899 – Dakotas and Arkansas, to western United States and Canada, and south at high altitude in mountains of Durango, Mexico. * ''
Polyergus topoffi ''Polyergus'' is a small genus of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of Formica) for workers. Reproduction ''Po ...
'' Trager, 2013 – high desert to mid-elevation mountains from Hidalgo, Mexico to southern Arizona, United States * ''
Polyergus vinosus ''Polyergus'' is a small genus of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of Formica) for workers. Reproduction ''Po ...
'' Trager, 2013 – southern California to northern Baja California, Mexico


''samurai'' group

* ''
Polyergus nigerrimus ''Polyergus nigerrimus'' is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is native to Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is t ...
'' Marikovsky, 1963 – Mongolia, Tuvan Republic, southern Russia * ''
Polyergus samurai ''Polyergus samurai'' is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. Distribution It was long thought endemic to Japan, but is now also known from Korea and northeastern China.''Купянская А. Н.'' 1990. Муравь� ...
'' Yano, 1911 – Japan, Korea, eastern China, southeastern Russia ;''
incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertain ...
'' * ''
Polyergus texanus ''Polyergus'' is a small genus of ants with 14 described species. They are also referred to by the names "Slave-raiding ants" or "Amazon ants". They are characterized by their habit of raiding nests (of Formica) for workers. Reproduction ''Po ...
'' – excluded from ''Polyergus'' by Trager (2013)


References

*


External links

*
antweb.org
- from which the text of this article is derived.
myrmecofourmis.fr
Video of Polyergus rufescens stealing Serviformica pupae {{Taxonbar, from=Q1774064 Formicinae Ant genera Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille