''Vitsika'' is a
Malagasy 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 ...
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a 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 ...
. Described in 2014, the genus contains 14 species.
Description
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
are known for all species except ''V. obscura''. The queens may be
alate
Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures.
In entomology
In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form of ...
or
ergatoid
An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + '' -oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gyne ...
, or both forms may occur within a single species. It is possible that all species will be found to produce both ergatoids and alates when the species are better represented in collections. Two species (''V. manifesta'', ''V. suspicax'') exhibit morphological intermediates between alate and ergatoid forms, and two species (''V. acclivitas'' and ''V. crebra'') appear to be
polygynous
Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); .
Incidence
Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...
.
Worker-associated males are known for ''V. crebra'', ''V. breviscapa'' and ''V. labes''. In addition, the males of three other species, collected in isolation (in
Malaise traps), are present in collections. Similar in size to the conspecific worker or slightly smaller.
Species
*''
Vitsika acclivitas''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika astuta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika breviscapa''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika crebra''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika disjuncta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika incisura''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika labes''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika manifesta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika miranda''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika obscura''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika procera''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika suspicax''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika tenuis''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
*''
Vitsika venustas''
Bolton & Fisher, 2014
References
*
Myrmicinae
Ant genera
Hymenoptera of Africa
Insects of Madagascar
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
{{myrmicinae-stub