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Ants
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 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with sizeable nest that consist of millions of individuals or into the hundreds of millions in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fire Ant
Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the names shared by this genus are often used interchangeably to refer to other species of ant, such as the term red ant, mostly because of their similar coloration despite not being in the genus ''Solenopsis''. Both '' Myrmica rubra'' and '' Pogonomyrmex barbatus'' are common examples of non-Solenopsis ants being termed red ants. None of these common names apply to all species of ''Solenopsis'' nor exclusively to species of ''Solenopsis''; for example, several species of weaver ants of the genus '' Oecophylla'' in Southeast Asia are colloquially called "fire ants" because of their similar coloration and painful bites, but the two genera are not closely related. '' Wasmannia auropunctata'' is another unrelated ant more commonly called the "littl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Ant Subfamilies
Ants (family Formicidae in the order Hymenoptera) are the most species-rich of all social insects, with more than 12,000 described species and many others awaiting description. Formicidae is divided into 21 subfamilies, of which 17 contain extant taxa, while four are exclusively fossil. Ants have come to occupy virtually all major terrestrial habitats, with the exception of tundra and cold ever-wet forests. They display a wide range of social behaviors, foraging habits and associations with other organisms, which has generated scientific and public interest. Clades Beginning in the 1990s, molecular (DNA sequence) data have come to play a central role in attempts to reconstruct the ant "tree of life". Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on multiple nuclear genes have yielded robust results that reinforce some preexisting views but overturn others – and suggest that there has been considerable morphological convergence among some ant lineages. Molecular data provide very ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formica Rufa
''Formica rufa'', also known as the red wood ant, southern wood ant, or horse ant, is a boreal ecosystem, boreal member of the Formica rufa group, ''Formica rufa'' group of ants, and is the type species for that group, being described already by Linnaeus. It is native to Eurasia, with a recorded distribution stretching from the middle of Scandinavia to the northern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia and Anatolia, and from Great Britain to Lake Baikal, with unconfirmed reportings of it also to the Russian Far East. There are claims that it can be found in North America, but this is not confirmed in specialised literature, and no recent publication where North American wood ants are listed mentions it as present, while records from North America are all listed as dubious or unconfirmed in a record compilation. The workers' heads and thoraces are colored red and the abdomen brownish-black, usually with dark patches on the head and promensonotum, although some individuals may be more uniform r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haidomyrmecinae
Haidomyrmecinae, occasionally called hell ants, are an extinct subfamily of ants (Formicidae) known from Cretaceous fossils primarily found in amber from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, spanning the late Aptian to Campanian, around 113 to 79 million years ago. The subfamily was first proposed in 2003 but had been subsequently treated as the tribe Haidomyrmecini and placed in the extinct ant subfamily Sphecomyrminae. Reevaluation of the Haidomyrmecini in 2020 led to the elevation of the group back to the subfamily. The family contains nine genera and 13 species. Members of this family are highly distinct from all other ants, having diverse head ornamentation, and unusually shaped, extended mandibles that are articulated vertically rather than horizontally as in modern ants. The jaws in combination with the head ornamentation served to restrain prey, with most species having setae (hair-like structures) covering parts of the head, which likely functioned as triggers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolichoderinae
Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Argentine ant (''Linepithema humile''), 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. This subfamily is distinguished by having a single petiole (no post-petiole) and a slit-like orifice, from which chemical compounds are released. Dolichoderine ants do not possess a sting, unlike ants in some other subfamilies, such as Ponerinae and Myrmicinae, instead relying on the chemical defensive compounds produced from the anal gland. Of the compounds produced by dolichoderine ants, several terpenoids were identified including the previously unknown iridomyrmecin, isoiridomyrmecin, and iridodial. Such compounds are responsible for the smell given off by an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martialinae
''Martialis heureka'' is a species of ant discovered in 2000 from the Amazon rainforest near Manaus, Brazil. It was described as a new species and placed as the sole member of a new subfamily, Martialinae. The generic name means "from Mars" and was given due to its unusual morphology, and the species epithet '' heureka'' indicates the surprising discovery. It belongs to the oldest known distinct lineage to have diverged from the ancestors of all other ants. Etymology The aberrant features of this ant led Stefan P. Cover and Edward O. Wilson to comment that it was an ant that had to be from Mars. The genus name, then, refers to the planet Mars, alluding to the strange characteristics that seem to come from nowhere; the species epithet is from Ancient Greek ηὕρηκα "I found it", echoing Archimedes' famous exclamation, meant to epitomize the troubles involved in the rediscovery of the species after the first specimen discovered in a soil sample was lost. Discovery Two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brownimeciinae
''Brownimecia'' is an extinct genus of ants, the only genus in the tribe Brownimeciini and subfamily Brownimeciinae of the Formicidae. Fossils of the identified species, ''Brownimecia clavata'' and ''Brownimecia inconspicua'', are known from the Late Cretaceous of North America. The genus is one of several ants described from Late Cretaceous ambers of New Jersey. ''Brownimecia'' was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, until it was transferred to its own subfamily in 2003; it can be distinguished from other ants due to its unusual sickle-like mandibles and other morphological features that makes this ant unique among the Formicidae. ''B. clavata'' is also small, measuring , and a stinger is present in almost all of the specimens collected. The morphology of the mandibles suggest a high level of feeding specialization. History and classification ''Brownimecia clavata'' is known from three adult fossils: the holotype—specimen number AMNH NJ-667—collected by Yale Goldma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptanillinae
Leptanillinae is a subfamily of primitive ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...s consisting of three genera. Ants of this subfamily have larvae that feed their hemolymph to the queen through specialized processes on their prothoraces and third abdominal segments.Tree of Life Web Project. 2004Leptanillini Version 21 October 2004 (temporary). InThe Tree of Life Web Project/ref> This behavior resembles that of the distantly related '' Adetomyrma'', also called the Dracula ant, which pierces their larvae to obtain body fluids. Members of ''Leptanilla'' 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. Subdivisions * Leptanillini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heteroponerinae
Ectatomminae is a subfamily of ants in the poneromorph subfamilies group containing four extant and three extinct genera in two tribes. The subfamily was described in 2003 when Barry Bolton divided the Ponerinae subfamily into six subfamilies. Heteroponerinae used to be an independent subfamily, but was merged into Ectatomminae in 2022. The taxonomical position of Ectatomminae was further upheld in a genomic reanalysis conducted with alternate methods in 2024. Taxonomy *Ectatommini Emery, 1896 **''Alfaria (ant), Alfaria'' Dlussky, 1999 **†''Canapone'' Dlussky, 1999 **''Ectatomma'' Smith, 1858 **†''Electroponera'' Wheeler, 1915 **''Gnamptogenys'' Roger, 1863 **''Holcoponera'' Mayr, 1887 **''Poneracantha'' Emery, 1897 **†''Pseudectatomma'' Dlussky & Wedman, 2012 **''Rhytidoponera'' Mayr, 1862 **''Stictoponera'' Mayr, 1887 **''Typhlomyrmex'' Mayr, 1862 *Heteroponerini Bolton, 2003 **''Acanthoponera'' Mayr, 1862 **''Aulacopone'' Arnol'di, 1930 **''Bazboltonia'' Camacho & Feit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ectatomminae
Ectatomminae is a subfamily of ants in the poneromorph subfamilies group containing four extant and three extinct genera in two tribes. The subfamily was described in 2003 when Barry Bolton divided the Ponerinae Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, 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 replac ... subfamily into six subfamilies. Heteroponerinae used to be an independent subfamily, but was merged into Ectatomminae in 2022. The taxonomical position of Ectatomminae was further upheld in a genomic reanalysis conducted with alternate methods in 2024. Taxonomy * Ectatommini Emery, 1896 **'' Alfaria'' Dlussky, 1999 **†'' Canapone'' Dlussky, 1999 **'' Ectatomma'' Smith, 1858 **†'' Electroponera'' Wheeler, 1915 **'' Gnamptogenys'' Roger, 1863 **'' Holcoponera'' Mayr, 1887 **'' Poneracantha'' Emery, 1897 **†'' Pseude ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aneuretinae
Aneuretinae is a subfamily of ants consisting of a single extant species, ''Aneuretus simoni'' ( Sri Lankan relict ant), and 9 fossil species. Earlier, the phylogenetic position of ''A. simoni'' was thought to be intermediate between primitive and advanced subfamilies of ants, but recent studies have shown it is the nearest living relative of subfamily Dolichoderinae. Genera *Aneuretini Emery, 1913 **†'' Aneuretellus'' Dlussky, 1988 **'' Aneuretus'' Emery, 1893 **†'' Mianeuretus'' Carpenter, 1930 **†'' Paraneuretus'' Wheeler, 1915 **†'' Protaneuretus'' Wheeler, 1915 *†Pityomyrmecini Wheeler, 1915 **†'' Pityomyrmex'' Wheeler, 1915 *''incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), 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, uncertainty ...'' **†'' Britaneuretus'' Dlussky & Perfilieva, 2014 **†'' Cananeuretu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmeciinae
Myrmeciinae is a subfamily of the Formicidae, ants once found worldwide but now restricted to Australia and New Caledonia. This subfamily is one of several ant subfamilies which possess gamergates, female worker ants which are able to mate and reproduce, thus sustaining the colony after the loss of the queen. The Myrmeciinae subfamily was formerly composed of only one genus, '' Myrmecia'', but the subfamily was redescribed by Ward & Brady in 2003 to include two tribes and four genera. An additional three genera, one form genus, and 9 species were described in 2006 from the Early Eocene of Denmark, Canada, and Washington. Subsequently an additional fossil genus was moved from the family Rhopalosomatidae in 2018, and a new genus was described in 2021. Tribes and genera *Tribe Myrmeciini **'' Myrmecia'' *Tribe Prionomyrmecini **'' Nothomyrmecia'' **†'' Prionomyrmex'' **†'' Propalosoma'' **†'' Tyrannomecia'' **†'' Ypresiomyrma'' *Tribe ''incertae sedis'' **† ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
