Leptanillinae is a
subfamily of
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s. They are further divided into the tribes Anomalomyrmini and Leptanillini.
In all Leptanillini, the larvae feed their
hemolymph
Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...
to the queen through specialized processes on their prothoraces and third abdominal segments.
[Tree of Life Web Project. 2004]
Leptanillini
Version 21 October 2004 (temporary). In
The Tree of Life Web Project
/ref> This behavior resembles that of the unrelated '' Adetomyrma'', also called Dracula ants, which pierce their larvae to obtain body fluids.
At least ''Leptanilla'' and ''Phaulomyrma'' are minute, yellow, blind ants that live below the surface.
Distribution
The Leptanillinae are mainly spread out in tropical and warm temperate regions in Europe and Australian regions.
Systematics
* Anomalomyrmini Bolton, 1990
** '' Anomalomyrma'' Taylor, 1990
** '' Furcotanilla'' Xu, 2012
** '' Protanilla'' Taylor, 1990
* Leptanillini Emery, 1910
** '' Leptanilla'' Emery, 1870
** '' Phaulomyrma'' G.C. Wheeler & E.W. Wheeler, 1930
** '' Yavnella'' Kugler, 1987
References
External links
*
Ant subfamilies
Taxa named by Carlo Emery
{{ant-stub