Myrmicinae

Cataulacus granulatus, copyright N. Budianggoro.

Belongs within: Formicidae.
Contains: Oligomyrmex, Podomyrma, Aphaenogaster, Myrmica, Epopostrumiti, Solenopsidini, Monomorium, Meranoplini, Cardiocondyla, Leptothorax, Temnothorax, Vollenhovia, Tetramorium, Strumigeniti, Pheidole, Attini, Orectognathus.

The Myrmicinae is a large clade of often smaller ants including nearly half of the world's ant genera (Heterick 2009). Some myrmicines are known for their potent stings; these include the harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex, the fire ants Solenopsis and the electric ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The Pogonomyrmex harvester ants get their vernacular name from their habit of collecting seeds for food; they are found in deserts of North and South America. Manica is a Holarctic genus of ants, most diverse in western North America, characterised by antennae with a five-segmented club, a weak but distinctly impressed promesonotal suture, and a propodeum armed with blunt tubercles rather than spines. Cataulacus is a genus of arboreally or subarboreally nesting ants found in warmer regions of the Old World, characterised by a broad, flattened head that in some species may be used to close up the entrance to the nest.

Characters (from Heterick 2009): Head with frontal lobes expanded to cover all or part of antennal insertions; pronotum and mesonotum fused to form one segment (promesonotum); waist consisting of two distinct segments (petiole and postpetiole), with postpetiole distinctly separate from remaining abdominal segments which are smoothly rounded, presclerites of postpetiole meeting but usually not fused; hind tibiae with at most a simple spur (sometimes absent); tarsal claws simple.

<==Myrmicinae [Myrmicidae, Myrmicites]
    |--+--+--Myrmica SB08
    |  |  `--Manica Jurine 1807 BS06, B03
    |  |       |--M. bradleyi BS06
    |  |       |--M. hunteri [incl. M. aldrichi] WW90
    |  |       `--M. rubida S09
    |  `--Pogonomyrmex SB08
    |       |--P. badius ES12
    |       |--P. barbatus C90
    |       |--P. californicus BM76
    |       |--P. rugosus H79
    |       `--P. subdentatus BS06
    `--+--Cataulacus Smith 1854 SB08, Z01 [incl. Otomyrmex Forel 1891 Z01]
       |    |--*C. taprobanae Smith 1854 Z01
       |    |--C. granulatus (Latreille 1802) [=Formica granulata; incl. C. hispidus] Z01
       |    |--C. hispidulus E89
       |    |--C. horridus N-ZLI11
       |    |--C. latus Forel in Grandidier 1892 B03
       |    |--C. muticus Emery 1889 B03
       |    |--C. reticulatus E89
       |    `--C. simoni Emery 1893 B03
       `--+--+--+--Acanthognathus ocellatus SB08
          |  |  `--Epopostrumiti BS06
          |  `--+--Solenopsidini BS06
          |     `--+--Monomorium SB08
          |        `--Myrmicaria Saunders 1842 BS06, Z01 [incl. Heptacondylus Smith 1858 B03, Physatta Smith 1858 B03]
          |             |--*M. brunnea Saunders 1841 (see below for synonymy) B03
          |             |--M. birmana Forel 1902 [=M. arachnoides birmana] B03
          |             |--M. eumenoides A61
          |             `--M. exigua BS06
          `--+--+--+--Meranoplini SB08
             |  |  `--Proatta butteli SB08
             |  `--+--Myrmecina Curtis 1829 BS06, TB85 [incl. Archaeomyrmex Mann 1921 Z01]
             |     |    |--M. graminicola (Latreille 1802) TB85 (see below for synonymy)
             |     |    |    |--M. g. graminicola ATI94
             |     |    |    `--M. g. nipponica ATI94
             |     |    |--M. guangxiensis Zhou 2001 Z01
             |     |    |--M. rugosa Forel 1902 TB85
             |     |    |--M. striata Emery 1889 B03
             |     |    `--M. taiwanensis Z01
             |     `--+--+--Cardiocondyla BS06
             |        |  `--+--Leptothorax BS06
             |        |     `--Temnothorax BS06
             |        `--+--+--Vollenhovia BS06
             |           |  `--Tetramorium SB08
             |           `--+--Tetrataner BS06
             |              `--Rhopalomastix Forel 1900 BS06, TB85
             |                   `--*R. rothneyi Forel 1900 TB85
             `--+--+--+--Wasmannia auropunctata SB08
                |  |  `--Blepharidatta brasiliensis SB08
                |  `--+--Pilotrochus besmerus BS06
                |     `--Strumigeniti SB08
                `--+--+--Basiceros [Basicerotini] SB08
                   |  |    `--B. manni SB08
                   |  `--Eurhopalothrix Brown & Kempf 1961 BS06, TB85
                   |       |--*E. bolaui (Mayr 1870) [=Rhopalothrix bolaui] TB85
                   |       |--E. australis Brown & Kempf 1960 TB85
                   |       |--E. emeryi (Forel 1912) [=Rhopalothrix emeryi] TB85
                   |       |--E. procera (Emery 1897) [=Rhopalothrix procera] TB85
                   |       `--E. seguensis N-ZLI11
                   `--+--Tranopelta gilva SB08
                      `--+--+--Pheidole SB08
                         |  `--+--Procryptocerus scabriusculus SB08
                         |     `--Cephalotes Latreille 1802 SB08, L02
                         |          `--*C. atratus (Linnaeus 1758) L02, L58 [=Formica atrata L02]
                         `--+--Attini SB08
                            `--+--Orectognathus SB08
                               `--Daceton [Dacetini, Dacetiti] SB08
                                    `--D. armigerum Latreille 1802 [incl. Myrmecia cordata Fabricius 1805] TB85

Myrmicinae incertae sedis:
  Megalomyrmex WB03
  Lenomyrmex WB03
  Zacryptocerus GE05
  Liomyrmex Mayr 1865 B03
    |--*L. coecus B03
    `--L. aurianus Emery 1889 B03
  Laparomyrmex E89
  Oligomyrmex TB85
  Phalacromyrmex B83
  Melissotarsus B83
  Anillomyrma H09
  Podomyrma H09
  Ankylomyrma H09
  Harpogoxenus WW90
  Ephebomyrmex WW90
  Veromessor WW90
    |--V. lariversi WW90
    |--V. pergandei TN62
    `--V. smithi WW90
  Lordomyrma Emery 1897 TB85
    |--*L. furcifera Emery 1897 TB85
    |--L. leae Wheeler 1919 TB85
    `--L. punctiventris Wheeler 1919 TB85
  Paratopula N-ZLI11
  Acanthomyrmex Emery 1893 B03
    |--*A. luciolae Emery 1893 B03
    |--A. ferox N-ZLI11
    `--A. glabfemoralis Zhou & Zheng 1997 Z01
  Lophomyrmex Emery 1892 B03
    |--*L. quadrispinosus (Jerdon 1851) [=Ocodoma quadrispinosa] B03
    |--L. bedoti Emery 1893 B03
    `--L. burmanus Emery 1893 B03
  Rotastruma N-ZL11
  Secostruma N-Zl11
  Trichomyrmex Mayr 1865 B03
    `--*T. rogeri Mayr 1865 B03
  Recurvidris Bolton 1992 [=Trigonogaster Forel 1890 non Guerin-Meneville 1844] Z01
    |--*R. recurvispinosa (Forel 1890) [=*Trigonogaster recurvispinosa] Z01
    |--R. glabriceps Zhou 2001 Z01
    `--R. pickburni Z01
  Stereomyrmex Emery 1901 B03
    `--*S. horni Emery 1901 B03
  Atopomyrmex André 1889 B03
    |--*A. mocquerysi B03
    `--A. ceylonicus Emery 1901 B03
  Calyptromyrmex Emery 1887 TB85
    |--*C. beccarii Emery 1887 TB85
    `--C. schraderi Forel 1901 TB85
  Machomyrma Forel 1895 TB85
    `--*M. dispar (Forel 1895) [=Liomyrmex (*Machomyrma) dispar] TB85
  Peronomyrmex Viehmeyer 1922 TB85
    `--*P. overbecki Viehmeyer 1922 TB85
  Rhopalothrix Mayr 1870 TB85
    |--*R. ciliata Mayr 1870 TB85
    `--R. orbis Taylor 1968 TB85
  Rhoptromyrmex Mayr 1901 (see below for synonymy) Z01
    |--*R. globinodis Mayr 1901 Z01
    |--R. melleus (Emery 1897) [=Tetramorium melleum] TB85
    `--R. wroughtonii Forel 1902 Z01 (see below for synonymy)
  Aphaenogaster BS06
  Messor Forel 1890 B03
    |--*M. barbarus (Linn. 1767) B03 (see below for synonymy)
    |    |--M. b. barbarus MS01
    |    `--M. b. striaticeps MS01
    |--M. aciculatus Z01
    |--M. andrei BS06
    |--M. denticornis BS06
    |--M. himalayanus (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Messor) barbarum himalayanum] B03
    `--M. julianus (Pergande 1894) NT01
  Stenammini H09
    |--Stenamma dyscheres BS06
    `--Rogeria H09
         |--R. flavigaster (Clark 1938) H09, TB85 [=Xiphomyrmex flavigaster H09, Chelaner flavigaster H09]
         `--R. stigmatica E14
              |--R. s. stigmatica E14
              `--R. s. sublevinodis Emery 1914 E14
  Kartidris Bolton 1991 Z01
    |--*K. nyos Bolton 1991 Z01
    `--K. galos Bolton 1991 Z01
  Dilobocondyla Santschi 1910 [incl. Mesomyrma Stitz 1911] Z01
    |--*D. selebensis (Emery 1897) [=Atopomyrmex selebensis] Z01
    `--D. fouqueti Santschi 1910 [incl. D. fouqueti var. lighti Wheeler 1927] Z01
  Dacatria Rigato 1994 Z01
    `--*D. templaris Rigato 1994 Z01
  Sinomyrmex Hong 2002 H02
    `--*S. brunnea Hong 2002 H02
  Orbigastrula Hong 2002 H02
    `--*O. guchengziensis Hong 2002 H02
  Fushunomyrmex Hong 2002 H02
    `--*F. lioaningensis Hong 2002 H02
  Quineangulicapito Hong 2002 H02
    `--*Q. fushunensis Hong 2002 H02
  Brachytarsites Hong 2002 H02
    `--*B. dongzhouheensis Hong 2002 H02
  Quadrulicapito Hong 2002 H02
    `--*Q. longa Hong 2002 H02
  Clavipetiola Hong 2002 H02
    `--*C. asiatica Hong 2002 H02
  Sphaerogasterites Hong 2002 H02
    `--*S. longipetiolatus Hong 2002 H02
  Wumyrmex Hong 2002 H02
    `--*W. furvis Hong 2002 H02

*Messor barbarus (Linn. 1767) B03 [=Formica barbara B03; incl. Atta instabilis Smith 1858 B03, Messor barbarus var. instabilis B03, M. barbarus var. lobulifera Emery in Mocsáry & Szépligeti 1901 MS01, Aphaenogaster barbara var. punctata Forel 1886 B03]

Myrmecina graminicola (Latreille 1802) TB85 [=Formica graminicola TB85; incl. Myrmica bidens Foerster 1850 Z01, Myrmecina grouvellei Bondroit 1918 Z01, Myrmecina kutteri Forel 1914 Z01, *Myrmecina latreillei Curtis 1829 Z01, Myrmica striatala Nylander 1849 Z01]

*Myrmicaria brunnea Saunders 1841 [incl. Myrmica fodiens Jerdon 1851, Myrmicaria fodiens, Myrmicaria brunnea var. subcarinata] B03

Rhoptromyrmex Mayr 1901 [incl. Acidomyrmex Emery 1915, Hagioxenus Forel 1910, Ireneella Donisthorpe 1941] Z01

Rhoptromyrmex wroughtonii Forel 1902 Z01 [=Tetramorium wroughtoni B03; incl. R. intermedia Forel 1913 Z01, R. leno Viehmeyer 1914 Z01, R. rothneyi Forel 1902 Z01, R. wroughtoni rothneyi B03, Tetramorium rothneyi B03, R. sumatrensis Forel 1913 Z01, R. taiwanensis Wheeler 1930 Z01]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.

[BM76] Bohart, R. M., & A. S. Menke. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World. University of California Press: Berkeley.

[B83] Bolton, B. 1983. The Afrotropical dacetine ants (Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Entomology series 46 (4): 267–416.

[BS06] Brady, S. G., T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher & P. S. Ward. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103 (48): 18172–18177.

[C90] Crawford, C. S. 1990. Scorpiones, Solifugae, and associated desert taxa. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 421–475. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[E89] Emery, C. 1889. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. XX.—Formiche di Birmania e del Tenasserim raccolte da Leonardo Fea (1885–87). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 485–520.

[E14] Emery, C. 1914. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie & des îles Loyalty. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 393–436, pl. 12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[ES12] Espadaler, X., & S. Santamaria. 2012. Ecto- and endoparasitic fungi on ants from the Holarctic region. Psyche 2012: 168478.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[H09] Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1–206.

[H02] Hong Y. 2002. Amber Insect of China. Beijing Scientific and Technological Publishing House.

[H79] Howse, P. E. 1979. The uniqueness of insect societies: aspects of defense and integration. In: Larwood, G., & B. R. Rosen (eds) Biology and Systematics of Colonial Organisms pp. 345–374. Academic Press: London.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[MS01] Mocsáry, A., & V. Szépligeti. 1901. Hymenopterák [Hymenopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 121–169. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[NT01] Newton, A. F., M. K. Thayer, J. S. Ashe & D. S. Chandler. 2001. Staphylinidae Latreille, 1802. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 272–418. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

[N-ZLI11] Nur-Zati A. M., G. T. Lim & A. B. Idris. 2011. Checklist of ants of selected hill dipterocarp forests of peninsular Malaysia. Serangga 16 (1): 91–105.

[SB08] Schultz, T. R. & S. G. Brady. 2008. Major evolutionary transitions in ant agriculture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 105 (14): 5435–5440.

[S09] Seifert, B. 2009. Cryptic species in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) revisited: we need a change in the alpha-taxonomic approach. Myrmecological News 12: 149–166.

[TB85] Taylor, R. W., & D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 1–149. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.

[TN62] Tevis, L., Jr & I. M. Newell. 1962. Studies on the biology and seasonal cycle of the giant red velvet mite, Dinothrombium pandorae (Acari, Trombidiidae). Ecology 43 (3): 497–505.

[WB03] Ward, P. S., & S. G. Brady. 2003. Phylogeny and biogeography of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Invertebrate Systematics 17: 361–386.

[WW90] Wheeler, G. C., & J. Wheeler. 1990. Insecta: Hymenoptera Formicidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1277–1294. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).

Last updated: 14 June 2020.