''Acropyga'' is a

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 n ...

of small formicine

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 22,0 ...

s. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding

mealybug Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...

s of the species ''

Xenococcus annandalei ''Xenococcus annandalei'' is a species of mealybug in the family Pseudococcidae that infests the roots of certain species of trees. Description The adult female ''X. annandalei'' is an elongated oval shape with an abdomen that tapers abruptly ...

''. Living, gravid females are carried in the jaws of ''A. acutiventris'' queens during their nuptial flight, to establish the symbiotic association in founding colonies. Other ''Acropyga'' species have relationships with different species of mealybugs, and it could be a trait common to the whole genus.

Description

''Acropyga'' are smaller than , with a compact, stocky body. They have antennae with 10 or 11 segments (including the scape), short palps and reduced eyes with four to 30 individual

ommatidia The compound eyes of arthropods like insects, crustaceans and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia (singular: ommatidium). An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. T ...

. In some species, the eyes are completely absent.

Distribution

''Acropyga'' is found in the Americas,

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

, India to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and Australia. ''A. paleartica'' is known only from

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

specimens of ''Acropyga '' have been recovered from the

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian, the Burdigalian was the first and longest war ...

stage.

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

deposits and several individuals are preserved carrying ''

Electromyrmococcus ''Electromyrmococcus'' is an extinct genus of mealybug in the Pseudococcidae subfamily Rhizoecinae. The genus currently contains three species, all from the early Miocene, Burdigalian stage, Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola ...

s. These fossils represent the oldest recorded record of the symbiosis between mealybugs and ''Acropyga'' species ants. They are found in leaf litter and forage on low vegetation, and will nest in various sites, including soil, bark and rotten logs.

Species

*''

Acropyga acutiventris ''Acropyga acutiventris'' is an ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It lives underground in tropical regions and forms a Mutualism (biology), mutualistic association with the mealybug, ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Description This ant has the small ...

'' Roger, 1862 *''

Acropyga ambigua ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' Emery, 1922 *'' Acropyga arnoldi'' Santschi, 1926 *'' Acropyga ayanganna'' LaPolla, 2004 *'' Acropyga bakwele'' LaPolla & Fisher, 2005 *'' Acropyga butteli'' Forel, 1912 *''

Acropyga decedens ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' (Mayr, 1887) *'' Acropyga donisthorpei'' Weber, 1944 *''

Acropyga dubia ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' Karavaiev, 1933 *'' Acropyga dubitata'' (Wheeler & Mann, 1914) *'' Acropyga epedana'' Snelling, 1973 *'' Acropyga exsanguis'' (Wheeler, 1909) *''

Acropyga fuhrmanni ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gr ...

'' (Forel, 1914) *''

Acropyga gelasis ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *†''

Acropyga glaesaria ''Acropyga glaesaria'' is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae known from a group of possibly Miocene fossils found on Hispaniola. ''A. glaesaria'' is the first species of the ant genus ''Acropyga'' to have been described from f ...

'' LaPolla, 2005 *''

Acropyga goeldii ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Forel, 1893 *'' Acropyga guianensis'' Weber, 1944 *''

Acropyga hirsutula ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *''

Acropyga hystrix ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *''

Acropyga indosinensis ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' Wheeler, 1935 *''

Acropyga inezae ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small Formicinae, formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. ''Acropyga acutiventris, A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xeno ...

'' Forel, 1912 *''

Acropyga keira ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *''

Acropyga kinomurai ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' Terayama & Hashimoto, 1996 *''

Acropyga lauta ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Mann, 1919 *''

Acropyga major ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Donisthorpe, 1949 *''

Acropyga myops ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Forel, 1910 *''

Acropyga nipponensis ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gr ...

'' Terayama, 1985 *''

Acropyga oceanica ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Emery, 1900 *'' Acropyga palaga'' LaPolla, 2004 *''

Acropyga paleartica ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, grav ...

'' Menozzi, 1936 *''

Acropyga pallida ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' (Donisthorpe, 1938) *'' Acropyga panamensis'' Weber, 1944 *''

Acropyga parvidens ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' (Wheeler & Mann, 1914) *''

Acropyga romeo ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *'' Acropyga rubescens'' Forel, 1894 *''

Acropyga sauteri ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Forel, 1912 *''

Acropyga silvestrii ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Emery, 1915 *''

Acropyga smithii ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Forel, 1893 *''

Acropyga stenotes ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gr ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 Acropyga glaesaria SMFBE457B1 01

*''

Acropyga tricuspis ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' LaPolla, 2004 *''

Acropyga yaeyamensis ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species '' Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Terayama & Hashimoto, 1996 *''

Acropyga yushi ''Acropyga'' is a genus of small formicine ants. Some species can be indirect pests. '' A. acutiventris'', which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species ''Xenococcus annandalei''. Living, gra ...

'' Terayama, 2009

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1308458 Formicinae Ant genera Extant Burdigalian first appearances Taxa named by Julius Roger

Description

Distribution

Species

References

Further reading

External links