''Myrmica colax'' is a 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 ...

, originally described by Cole as ''Paramyrmica colax''. Until now, it is only known from its type locality in the

Davis Mountains The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, located near Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then United States Secretary of War and later Confederate President Je ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, USA. He found ''M. colax'' in a '' M. striolagaster'' colony and considers the two species quite similar in morphology. This suggests ''M. colax'' might be an

inquiline In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the h ...

References

* Cole, A. C., Jr. (1957). ''"Paramyrmica, a new North American genus of ants allied to Myrmica Latreille. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)."'' J. Tenn. Acad. Sci. 32: 37–42.

External links

* Myrmica Hymenoptera of North America Insects of the United States Insects described in 1957 {{myrmicinae-stub