''Acromyrmex pubescens'' is a
species of
New World ants of the subfamily
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and ...
of the genus ''
Acromyrmex''. They are native to
Paraguay.
Description
Like other members of the
genus ''
Acromyrmex'' and the closely related genus ''
Atta Atta or ATTA may refer to:
* Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur
* ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae
* ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy
* Atta flour, whole wheat flour made f ...
'', ''Acromyrmex pubescens'' are commonly known as "
leafcutter ants".
''Acromyrmex pubescens'' has four pairs of spines and a rough exoskeleton, features which distinguish it and other members of the genus ''Acromyrmex'' from the genus ''Atta''. The pair of front spines are longer than the pair of middle spines, similar to ''
Acromyrmex lundii'', but unlike ''A. lundii'', ''A. pubescens'' is covered with dense sometimes overlapping fuzz on their bodies.
Taxonomy
''Acromyrmex pubescens'' were first described by the Italian entomologist
Carlo Emery in 1905. They were originally classified as a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of ''
Acromyrmex lundii'' because of their structural similarity. They were named 'pubescens' (Latin for "
downy") because of the presence of thick fuzzy hair that covers most of their bodies in contrast to the relatively bare ''A. lundii''. A careful reexamination by the American entomologist Alexander L. Wild in 2007 resulted in their reclassification as a separate species.
Ecology
''Acromyrmex pubescens'', like most leafcutter ants, subsist mostly through a
mutualistic relationship with
fungi of the genus ''
Leucocoprinus''. They cultivate the fungi with masticated leaves taken from nearby trees.
They are mostly found in isolated 'islands' of trees found in Paraguayan
chaco savannahs.
See also
*
List of leafcutter ants
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4676211
pubescens
Hymenoptera of South America
Insects described in 1905