''Dolichoderus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s found worldwide.

Taxonomy

The ants of the

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 biogeogra ...

genus ''Monacis'' were revised in 1959 by Kempf. However, Brown in 1973 and G. C. Wheeler and J. Wheeler in 1973 and 1976 considered both ''Monacis'' and ''Hypoclinea'' to be

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

s of ''Dolichoderus''.Notes on the ant genus ''Hypoclinea'', Mayr, with descriptions of three new species
/ref>

Description

The type species is '' Dolichoderus attelaboides''. Worker ants in this genus have a body length that is typically about four millimetres and can be recognised by their thick, inflexible and strongly sculptured

integument In biology, an integument is the tissue surrounding an organism's body or an organ within, such as skin, a husk, Exoskeleton, shell, germ or Peel (fruit), rind. Etymology The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a coverin ...

. There is a flange on the underside of the head near the base of the mandibles which is saw-like in some species. The longitudinal suture in the central plate of the metathorax is deeply impressed. The

propodeum Propodeum labelled within the alitrunk of an ant worker The propodeum is a term that can refer to unrelated structures in insects or in mollusks. Insects The first abdominal segment in Apocrita Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants) is known a ...

or first abdominal segment has the posterior face distinctly

concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon A simple polygon that is not convex is called concave, non-convex or ...

when viewed from the side.Online Catalog of the North American Ants
The gaster and alitrunk are separated by a single segment, the petiole. The orifice of the

cloaca A cloaca ( ), : cloacae ( or ), or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive (rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilagin ...

is a horizontal slit rather than a circular opening. It is surrounded by a few rather stiff erect bristles.Identification and nesting sites of North American species of ''Dolichoderus''
/ref>

Distribution

Members of this genus are found worldwide, in all the continents except Antarctica.

Biology

Colonies are of varying sizes and are constructed in the soil, in curled leaves, in the hollow stems of plants and in cartons which are formed by the ants chewing wood and mixing the product with secretions in a similar way to that used by

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s to build their nests. Some species are very versatile with '' Dolichoderus pustulatus'' nesting underground in northern parts of the United States while living wholly in trees in the south. The workers seek out and tend sap-sucking insects such as

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

s and

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the Order (biology), order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient g ...

s that excrete honeydew and they also feed on small

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s. Some species emit a pungent smelling fluid. Two species, '' Dolichoderus plagiatus'' and '' Dolichoderus taschenbergi'', are believed to be

polygynous Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...

with several queens in one nest. It is also possible that ''D. taschenbergi'' may be a temporary social

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

with ''D. plagiatus'' as

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

Species

*'' Dolichoderus abruptus'' (Smith, 1858) *†'' Dolichoderus affectus'' Théobald, 1937 *'' Dolichoderus affinis'' Emery, 1889 *'' Dolichoderus albamaculus'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus andinus'' (Kempf, 1962) *'' Dolichoderus angusticornis'' Clark, 1930 *†'' Dolichoderus antiquus'' Carpenter, 1930 *'' Dolichoderus attelaboides'' (Fabricius, 1775) *'' Dolichoderus australis'' André, 1896 *'' Dolichoderus baenae'' MacKay, 1993 *†'' Dolichoderus balticus'' (Mayr, 1868) *'' Dolichoderus beccarii'' Emery, 1887 *'' Dolichoderus bidens'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Dolichoderus bispinosus'' (Olivier, 1792) *†'' Dolichoderus brevicornis'' Dlussky, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus brevipalpis'' Dlussky, 2008 *†'' Dolichoderus brevipennis'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus brevis'' Santschi, 1920 *'' Dolichoderus brevithorax'' Menozzi, 1928 *†'' Dolichoderus bruneti'' Théobald, 1937 *'' Dolichoderus burmanicus'' Bingham, 1903 *'' Dolichoderus butteli'' Forel, 1913 *'' Dolichoderus canopus'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus carbonarius'' Emery, 1895 *†'' Dolichoderus caribbaeus'' (Wilson, 1985) *'' Dolichoderus clarki'' Wheeler, 1935 *'' Dolichoderus clusor'' Forel, 1907 *'' Dolichoderus cogitans'' Forel, 1912 *'' Dolichoderus coniger'' (Mayr, 1870) *†'' Dolichoderus coquandi'' Théobald, 1937 *†'' Dolichoderus cornutus'' (Mayr, 1868) *'' Dolichoderus crawleyi'' Donisthorpe, 1917 *'' Dolichoderus curvilobus'' (Lattke, 1987) *'' Dolichoderus cuspidatus'' (Smith, 1857) *'' Dolichoderus dajiensis'' Wang & Zheng, 2005 *'' Dolichoderus debilis'' Emery, 1890 *'' Dolichoderus decollatus'' Smith, 1858 *'' Dolichoderus dentatus'' Forel, 1902 *†'' Dolichoderus dibolius'' Wilson, 1985 *'' Dolichoderus diversus'' Emery, 1894 *†'' Dolichoderus dlusskyi'' LaPolla & Greenwalt, 2015 *'' Dolichoderus doloniger'' (Roger, 1862) *'' Dolichoderus doriae'' Emery, 1887 *†'' Dolichoderus elegans'' Wheeler, 1915 *'' Dolichoderus epetreius'' (Lattke, 1987) *'' Dolichoderus erectilobus'' Santschi, 1920 *'' Dolichoderus etus'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *†'' Dolichoderus evolans'' Zhang, 1989 *†'' Dolichoderus explicans'' (Förster, 1891) *'' Dolichoderus extensispinus'' Forel, 1915 *'' Dolichoderus feae'' Emery, 1889 *'' Dolichoderus fernandezi'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus ferrugineus'' Forel, 1903 *'' Dolichoderus flatidorsus'' Zhou & Zheng, 1997 *'' Dolichoderus formosus'' Clark, 1930 *'' Dolichoderus furcifer'' Emery, 1887 *'' Dolichoderus gagates'' Emery, 1890 *'' Dolichoderus germaini'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus ghilianii'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus gibbifer'' Emery, 1887 *'' Dolichoderus gibbus'' (Smith, 1861) *'' Dolichoderus gordoni'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus goudiei'' Clark, 1930 *†'' Dolichoderus granulinotus'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus haradae'' MacKay, 1993 *†'' Dolichoderus heeri'' Dlussky & Putyatina, 2014 *'' Dolichoderus imitator'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus incisus'' Xu, 1995 *'' Dolichoderus indrapurensis'' Forel, 1912 *'' Dolichoderus inermis'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus inferus'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus inpai'' (Harada, 1987) *†'' Dolichoderus intermedius'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus jacobsoni'' Forel, 1909 *†'' Dolichoderus jiaoyanshanensis'' (Hong, 1985) *'' Dolichoderus kathae'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus kinabaluensis'' Dill, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus kohlsi'' Dlussky & Rasnitsyn, 2003 *†'' Dolichoderus kutscheri'' Dlussky, 2008 *†'' Dolichoderus kutschlinicus'' (Deichmüller, 1881) *†'' Dolichoderus lacinius'' Zhang, 1989 *'' Dolichoderus lactarius'' (Smith, 1860) *'' Dolichoderus lamellosus'' (Mayr, 1870) *'' Dolichoderus laminatus'' (Mayr, 1870) *'' Dolichoderus laotius'' Santschi, 1920 *'' Dolichoderus laurae'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus lobicornis'' (Kempf, 1959) *'' Dolichoderus longicollis'' MacKay, 1993 *†'' Dolichoderus longipennis'' (Mayr, 1868) *†'' Dolichoderus longipilosus'' Dlussky, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus lucidus'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus luederwaldti'' Santschi, 1921 *'' Dolichoderus lugens'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus lujae'' Santschi, 1923 *†'' Dolichoderus luridivenosus'' Zhang, Sun & Zhang, 1994 *'' Dolichoderus lutosus'' (Smith, 1858) *'' Dolichoderus magnipastor'' Dill, 2002 *'' Dolichoderus mariae'' Forel, 1885 *'' Dolichoderus maschwitzi'' Dill, 2002 *'' Dolichoderus mesonotalis'' Forel, 1907 *†'' Dolichoderus mesosternalis'' Wheeler, 1915 *'' Dolichoderus modiglianii'' Emery, 1900 *'' Dolichoderus moggridgei'' Forel, 1886 *'' Dolichoderus monoceros'' Emery, 1897 *'' Dolichoderus mucronifer'' (Roger, 1862) *†'' Dolichoderus nanus'' Dlussky, 2002 *'' Dolichoderus niger'' Crawley, 1922 *'' Dolichoderus nigricornis'' Clark, 1930 *†'' Dolichoderus obliteratus'' (Scudder, 1877) *'' Dolichoderus omacanthus'' (Kempf, 1972) *'' Dolichoderus omicron'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *†'' Dolichoderus oviformis'' Théobald, 1937 *'' Dolichoderus parvus'' Clark, 1930 *†'' Dolichoderus passalomma'' Wheeler, 1915 *'' Dolichoderus pastorulus'' Dill, 2002 *'' Dolichoderus patens'' (Mayr, 1870) *†'' Dolichoderus perkovskyi'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus piceus'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus pilinomas'' Dill, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus pilipes'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus pilosus'' Zhou & Zheng, 1997 *†'' Dolichoderus pinguis'' Dlussky, Rasnitsyn, & Perfilieva, 2015 *'' Dolichoderus plagiatus'' (Mayr, 1870) *†'' Dolichoderus polessus'' Dlussky, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus polonicus'' Dlussky, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus primitivus'' (Wilson, 1985) *†'' Dolichoderus prolaminatus'' (Wilson, 1985) *†'' Dolichoderus punctatus'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus pustulatus'' Mayr, 1886 *'' Dolichoderus quadridenticulatus'' (Roger, 1862) *'' Dolichoderus quadripunctatus'' (Linnaeus, 1771) *'' Dolichoderus reflexus'' Clark, 1930 *†'' Dolichoderus robustus'' Dlussky, 2002 *†'' Dolichoderus rohweri'' Carpenter, 1930 *'' Dolichoderus rosenbergi'' Forel, 1911 *'' Dolichoderus rufescens'' Mann, 1912 *'' Dolichoderus rufotibialis'' Clark, 1930 *'' Dolichoderus rugocapitus'' Zhou, 2001 *'' Dolichoderus rugosus'' (Smith, 1858) *'' Dolichoderus rutilus'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus sagmanotus'' Xu, 2001 *'' Dolichoderus satanus'' Bolton, 1995 *'' Dolichoderus scabridus'' Roger, 1862 *'' Dolichoderus schulzi'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus scrobiculatus'' (Mayr, 1876) *†'' Dolichoderus sculpturatus'' (Mayr, 1868) *'' Dolichoderus semiorbis'' Shattuck & Marsden, 2013 *'' Dolichoderus semirugosus'' (Mayr, 1870) *'' Dolichoderus septemspinosus'' Emery, 1894 *'' Dolichoderus setosus'' (Kempf, 1959) *'' Dolichoderus shattucki'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus sibiricus'' Emery, 1889 *'' Dolichoderus siggii'' Forel, 1895 *'' Dolichoderus smithi'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus spinicollis'' (Latreille, 1817) *'' Dolichoderus spurius'' Forel, 1903 *'' Dolichoderus squamanodus'' Xu, 2001 *'' Dolichoderus sulcaticeps'' (Mayr, 1870) *'' Dolichoderus sundari'' Mathew & Tiwari, 2000 *'' Dolichoderus superaculus'' (Lattke, 1987) *'' Dolichoderus taprobanae'' (Smith, 1858) *'' Dolichoderus taschenbergi'' (Mayr, 1866) *†'' Dolichoderus tauricus'' Dlussky, 1981 *†'' Dolichoderus tertiarius'' (Mayr, 1868) *'' Dolichoderus thoracicus'' (Smith, 1860) *†'' Dolichoderus transversipetiolaris'' Zhang, Sun & Zhang, 1994 *'' Dolichoderus tricolor'' Emery, 1914 *'' Dolichoderus tricornis'' Emery, 1897 *'' Dolichoderus tridentanodus'' Ortega-De Santiago & Vásquez-Bolaños, 2012 *'' Dolichoderus tristis'' Mann, 1916 *'' Dolichoderus tuberifer'' Emery, 1887 *'' Dolichoderus turneri'' Forel, 1902 *'' Dolichoderus validus'' (Kempf, 1959) *'' Dolichoderus varians'' Mann, 1916 *†'' Dolichoderus vectensis'' Donisthorpe, 1920 *†'' Dolichoderus vexillarius'' Wheeler, 1915 *†'' Dolichoderus vlaskini'' Dlussky, 2008 *'' Dolichoderus voraginosus'' MacKay, 1993 *'' Dolichoderus ypsilon'' Forel, 1902 *†'' Dolichoderus zherichini'' Dlussky & Perkovsky, 2002

References

External links

* {{Authority control Dolichoderinae Ant genera Taxa described in 1831