''Myrmecocystus'' is a
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
n
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
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 in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Formicinae
The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.
Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and littl ...
. It is one of five genera that includes
honeypot ants. Worker ants keep and tend
plerergates, which are other ants that store large quantities of nutritious fluid in their abdomens to feed the colony during
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...
times. Some species engage in highly territorial tournaments, which can result in intraspecific slavery. During the raids, they carry off larvae, workers, and plerergates.
The genus has three
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
, namely ''Myrmecocystus'', ''Endiodioctes'', and ''Eremnocystus''.
Species
*Subgenus ''Myrmecosystus''
**''
Myrmecocystus christineae''
Snelling, 1982
**''
Myrmecocystus ewarti''
Snelling, 1971
**''
Myrmecocystus melanoticus''
Wheeler, 1914
**''
Myrmecocystus mexicanus
''Myrmecocystus mexicanus'' is a species of ant in the genus '' Myrmecocystus'', which is one of the six genera that bear the common name " honey ant" or "honeypot ant", due to curious behavior where some of the workers will swell with liquid foo ...
''
Wesmael, 1838
**''
Myrmecocystus navajo''
Wheeler, 1908
**''
Myrmecocystus pyramicus''
Smith, 1951
**''
Myrmecocystus testaceus''
Emery, 1893
*Subgenus ''Endiodioctes''
**''
Myrmecocystus baja''
Sankey-Alamilla et al., 2024
**''
Myrmecocystus depilis''
Forel, 1901
**''
Myrmecocystus flaviceps''
Wheeler, 1912
**''
Myrmecocystus intonsus''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus kathjuli''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus kennedyi''
Snelling, 1969
**''
Myrmecocystus koso''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus melliger''
Forel, 1886
**''
Myrmecocystus mendax''
Wheeler, 1908
**''
Myrmecocystus mimicus''
Wheeler, 1908
**''
Myrmecocystus nequazcatl''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus placodops''
Forel, 1908
**''
Myrmecocystus romainei''
Hunt & Snelling, 1975
**''
Myrmecocystus semirufus''
Emery, 1893
**''
Myrmecocystus wheeleri''
Snelling, 1971
*Subgenus ''Eremnocystus''
**''
Myrmecocystus arenarius''
Snelling, 1982
**''
Myrmecocystus colei''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus creightoni''
Snelling, 1971
**''
Myrmecocystus hammettensis''
Cole, 1938
**''
Myrmecocystus lugubris''
Wheeler, 1909
**''
Myrmecocystus perimeces''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus snellingi''
Bolton, 1995
**''
Myrmecocystus tenuinodis''
Snelling, 1976
**''
Myrmecocystus yuma''
Wheeler, 1912
Media
*
Natural World: Empire of the Desert Ants, BBC TWO 10 August 2011, 8 pm BST
informationabout it on BBC Nature
Notes
References
External links
*
Formicinae
Hymenoptera of North America
Ant genera
Edible insects
{{formicinae-stub