Myrmicinae

Not to be confused with Myrmeciinae.
Myrmicinae
Temporal range: Turonian–Recent
Atta cephalotes worker
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835
Type genus
Myrmica
Diversity[1]
142 genera

Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera;[1] their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and in soil, rotting wood, under stones, or in trees.[2]

Identification

Myrmicine worker ants have a distinct postpetiole, i.e., abdominal segment III is notably smaller than segment IV and set off from it by a well-developed constriction; the pronotum is inflexibly fused to the rest of the mesosoma, such that the promesonotal suture is weakly impressed or absent; and a functional sting is usually present. The clypeus is well-developed; as a result, the antennal sockets are well separated from the anterior margin of the head. Most myrmicine genera possess well-developed eyes and frontal lobes that partly conceal the antennal insertions.[3]

Tribes

Recently, the number of tribes was reduced from over 20 to just 6:[4]

Genera

In 2014, a majority of genera were placed into different tribes or moved to other subfamilies. Below is an updated list:[1][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bolton, B. (2014). "Myrmicinae". AntCat. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Goulet, H & Huber, JT (eds.) (1993) Hymenoptera of the world: an identification guide to families. Agriculture Canada. p. 224
  3. ↑ "Subfamily: Myrmicinae". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 Ward, Philip S.; Brady, Sean G.; Fisher, Brian L.; Schultz, Ted R. (July 2014). "The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Systematic Entomology. 40 (1). doi:10.1111/syen.12090. ISSN 1365-3113.
  • This article incorporates text from a scholarly publication published under a copyright license that allows anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute the materials in any form for any purpose: "Subfamily: Myrmicinae". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 21 September 2013.  Please check the source for the exact licensing terms.
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