''Myopopone castanea'' is a species 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 22 ...

in the genus ''

Myopopone ''Myopopone'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. The genus contains two species, one extant and one fossil. The type species ''Myopopone castanea'' is known from the Oriental and Indo-Australian regions, and China. The fossil sp ...

''. It was described by Smith in 1860.

Distribution

''Myopopone castanea'' is distributed in several Asian countries (such as

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

) and in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where they prefer to nest in rotten wood or bark.

Ecology

''M. castanea'' is a predator of

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

larvae that has been studied for potential use as a biological pest control insect of '' Oryctes rhinoceros'' larvae. The species is the only species known that has workers engage in larval hemolymph feeding.

References

External links

* Amblyoponinae Hymenoptera of Asia Hymenoptera of Australia Insects of Australia Insects described in 1860 {{ant-stub