''Myrmecocystus'' is a
North American
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
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 22,0 ...
s in the
subfamily 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 specialised workers (repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) that are gorged with food to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them, throug ...
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 factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accom ...
times. Some species engage in highly territorial tournaments, which can result in intraspecific slavery. During the raids, they carry off larvae, workers, and plerergates.
Species
*''
Myrmecocystus christineae''
Snelling, 1982
*''
Myrmecocystus colei''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus creightoni''
Snelling, 1971
*''
Myrmecocystus depilis''
Forel, 1901
*''
Myrmecocystus ewarti''
Snelling, 1971
*''
Myrmecocystus flaviceps''
Wheeler, 1912
*''
Myrmecocystus hammettensis''
Cole, 1938
*''
Myrmecocystus intonsus''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus kathjuli''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus kennedyi
''Myrmecocystus kennedyi'' is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Formicinae
Articles created by Qbugbot
Insects described in 1969
{{ant-stub ...
''
Snelling, 1969
*''
Myrmecocystus koso''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus lugubris''
Wheeler, 1909
*''
Myrmecocystus melanoticus''
Wheeler, 1914
*''
Myrmecocystus melliger''
Forel, 1886
*''
Myrmecocystus mendax''
Wheeler, 1908
*''
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 fo ...
''
Wesmael, 1838
*''
Myrmecocystus mimicus''
Wheeler, 1908
*''
Myrmecocystus navajo''
Wheeler, 1908
*''
Myrmecocystus nequazcatl''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus perimeces''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus placodops''
Forel, 1908
*''
Myrmecocystus pyramicus''
Smith, 1951
*''
Myrmecocystus romainei''
Hunt & Snelling, 1975
*''
Myrmecocystus semirufus''
Emery, 1893
*''
Myrmecocystus snellingi''
Bolton, 1995
*''
Myrmecocystus tenuinodis
''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 ...
''
Snelling, 1976
*''
Myrmecocystus testaceus''
Emery, 1893
*''
Myrmecocystus wheeleri''
Snelling, 1971
*''
Myrmecocystus yuma
''Myrmecocystus yuma'' is a species of ant native to the southwestern United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North Am ...
''
Wheeler, 1912
Media
*
Natural World: Empire of the Desert Ants, BBC TWO 10 August 2011, 8 pm BST
informationabout it on BBC Nature
References
External links
*
Formicinae
Hymenoptera of North America
Ant genera
Edible insects
{{formicinae-stub