''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 ...

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 ...

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 ant Honeypot ants, also called honey ants, are ants which have specialized workers—repletes, plerergates or rotunds—that consume large amounts of food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. This phenomenon of extreme inflation of the ...

s. 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 ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 ...

'' 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 ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Sankey-Alamilla et al., 2024 **'' Myrmecocystus depilis'' Forel, 1901 **'' Myrmecocystus flaviceps'' Wheeler, 1912 **'' Myrmecocystus intonsus'' Snelling, 1976 **''

Myrmecocystus kathjuli ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Snelling, 1976 **''

Myrmecocystus kennedyi ''Myrmecocystus kennedyi'' is a species of honeypot ant in the subgenus '' Endiodioctes'' native to the western United States and western Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the norther ...

'' Snelling, 1969 **''

Myrmecocystus koso ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Snelling, 1976 **''

Myrmecocystus melliger ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Forel, 1886 **''

Myrmecocystus mendax ''Myrmecocystus mendax'' is a species of honeypot ant native to Mexico and Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions o ...

'' Wheeler, 1908 **''

Myrmecocystus mimicus ''Myrmecocystus mimicus'' is a North American species of ant in the genus ''Myrmecocystus''. The species is widely distributed, from Kansas south to Texas and Mexico, and west to California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Wes ...

'' Wheeler, 1908 **''

Myrmecocystus nequazcatl ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Snelling, 1976 **''

Myrmecocystus placodops ''Myrmecocystus placodops'' is a species of honeypot ant native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin Amer ...

'' Forel, 1908 **''

Myrmecocystus romainei ''Myrmecocystus'' is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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 i ...

'' Hunt & Snelling, 1975 **''

Myrmecocystus semirufus ''Myrmecocystus semirufus'' is a species of honeypot ant native to the western United States, Baja California, and Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compri ...

'' 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 Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

: Empire of the Desert Ants, BBC TWO 10 August 2011, 8 pm BST
information
about it on BBC Nature

Notes

References

External links

* Formicinae Hymenoptera of North America Ant genera Edible insects {{formicinae-stub