''Myrmelachista'' is a

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ...

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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

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 little ...

. The genus is found exclusively in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

. Little is known regarding their biology.

Habitat and distribution

The genus is restricted to the

region, and 41% of the species in this genus can be found in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The species in this genus are arboreal and engage in the specialized practice of nesting in trunk cavities and among twigs. These ant species may also form complex mutual associations with certain

myrmecophyte Myrmecophytes (; literally "ant-plant") are plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants. There are over 100 different genera of myrmecophytes. These plants possess structural adaptations that provide ants with food and/o ...

s or with

Coccidae The Coccidae are a family of scale insects belonging to the superfamily Coccoidea. They are commonly known as soft scales, wax scales or tortoise scales. The females are flat with elongated oval bodies and a smooth integument which may be cover ...

and

Pseudococcidae Mealybugs are insects in the family Pseudococcidae, unarmored scale insects found in moist, warm habitats. Many species are considered pests as they feed on plant juices of greenhouse plants, house plants and subtropical trees and also act as a ...

species. Little information is available regarding the biology of ''Myrmelachista'' species; however, it is known that these species generally feed on

extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to anim ...

and on animal-derived proteins.

Description

''Myrmelachista'' species possess between nine and 10 antennal segments. Most nine-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species are found in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

(with only two known nine-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species in

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 ...

), whereas 10-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species are mostly found in South America (with only three known 10-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and Central America). The larvae of ''Myrmelachista'' ants are elongate and unremarkable, excepting for a few protruding dorsal hairs which might have a biological function in hanging larvae inside their nests. The circumscription of ''Myrmelachista'' species is a complex task because the morphological differences between individuals of a single species that originate from different colonies can be sufficient to cause these individuals to be erroneously regarded as members of different species.

Species

, 58 ''Myrmelachista'' species have been described, with a few recognized subspecies; the diversity of this genus has most likely been underestimated due to the limited taxonomic knowledge available regarding ''Myrmelachista''. In the most recent molecular databased phylogenetic proposals for ants, ''Myrmelachista'' is a sister group of ''

Brachymyrmex ''Brachymyrmex'' is a genus in the ants subfamily Formicinae. The genus can be recognized by the combination of having nine antennal segments (fewer than most ants) and the petiole concealed by the gaster in dorsal view. They are sometimes called ...

'', and these groups constitute the most basal and closely related formicine groups. *'' Myrmelachista ambigua'' Forel, 1893 *''

Myrmelachista amicta ''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology. Habitat and distribution The genus is restricted to the Neotropical r ...

'' Wheeler, 1934 *'' Myrmelachista arborea'' Forel, 1909 *'' Myrmelachista arthuri'' Forel, 1903 *'' Myrmelachista bambusarum'' Forel, 1903 *'' Myrmelachista bettinae'' Forel, 1903 *'' Myrmelachista brevicornis'' Wheeler, 1934 *'' Myrmelachista bruchi'' Santschi, 1922 *'' Myrmelachista catharinae'' Mayr, 1887 *'' Myrmelachista chilensis'' Forel, 1904 *'' Myrmelachista cooperi'' (Gregg, 1951) *'' Myrmelachista dalmasi'' Forel, 1912 *''

Myrmelachista donisthorpei ''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology. Habitat and distribution The genus is restricted to the Neotropical r ...

'' Wheeler, 1934 *''

Myrmelachista elata ''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology. Habitat and distribution The genus is restricted to the Neotropical r ...

'' Santschi, 1922 *''

Myrmelachista elongata ''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology. Habitat and distribution The genus is restricted to the Neotropical r ...

'' Santschi, 1925 *''

Myrmelachista flavida ''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology. Habitat and distribution The genus is restricted to the Neotropical r ...

Myrmelachista schumanni ''Myrmelachista schumanni'', also known as the lemon ant, is a species of ant from South America. It is notable for the creation of Devil's garden. Using its own herbicide they kill off all the plants in an area except for the myrmecophytes, o ...

'' Emery, 1890 *'' Myrmelachista skwarrae'' Wheeler, 1934 *'' Myrmelachista ulei'' Forel, 1904 *'' Myrmelachista vicina'' Kusnezov, 1951 *'' Myrmelachista zeledoni'' Emery, 1896

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4044740 Formicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of South America Hymenoptera of North America Taxa named by Julius Roger