''Temnothorax americanus'' is a species of slave-maker ant in the genus ''

Temnothorax ''Temnothorax'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains more than 380 species. Biology The workers of ''Temnothorax'' species are generally small. Colonies are typically monogynous, although facultative polygyny has been doc ...

''. The ants are 2–3 mm in size, and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the northeastern

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 America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and adjacent Canadian regions. They do not forage for food, but instead 'scout workers' from the colony seek out nearby host colonies of ants (e.g. '' Temnothorax longispinosus''), steal larvae and bring them back to their own colony. A small ''T. americanus'' colony could consist of a queen, two to five workers and thirty to sixty slaves. In a study published in ''

Animal Behaviour Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...

'', researchers showed that ''T. americanus'' scouts target stronger colonies over weaker ones to steal larvae from. It was formerly placed as the sole member of the genus '' Protomognathus''.

References

External links

* Myrmicinae Slave-making ants Hymenoptera of North America Insects of the United States Insects described in 1895 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{myrmicinae-stub