''Linepithema micans'' is a small 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 ...

from the genus ''

Linepithema ''Linepithema'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Distribution Their native distribution rage from northern Mexico, east into the Caribbean, and south into northern Argentina. Two species have been spread around the w ...

'' which was described by Forel in 1908. This ant is endemic to southern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. In Brazil, it is considered a pest of vineyards in acting as the main species associated with the coccid ''Eurhizococcus brasiliensis'' (Wille, 1922) (Hemiptera: Margarodidae). It is still a poorly studied species. Their abundant larvae are round and whitish, almost indistinguishable from the proximate species ''

Linepithema humile The Argentine ant (''Linepithema humile''), formerly ''Iridomyrmex humilis'', is an ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil. It is an invasive species that has been established in many Mediterranean climat ...

'', better known as the invasive

Argentine ant The Argentine ant (''Linepithema humile''), formerly ''Iridomyrmex humilis'', is an ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil. It is an invasive species that has been established in many Mediterranean clim ...

References

Dolichoderinae Hymenoptera of South America Insects described in 1908 {{Dolichoderinae-stub