Proformica

Proformica
Proformica nasuta worker from Spain
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Proformica
Ruzsky, 1902
Type species
Formica nasuta
Diversity[1]
27 species

Proformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae.[2] The genus is known from the Palearctic realm, from Mongolia through Central Asia to Spain. Colonies are small, generally containing a few hundred individuals, with a single queen (monogyne) or multiple ergatogyne queens. Unique in the tribe Formicini, some species have specialized workers ("honeypot ants") gorged with food; they function as living storage containers.[3]

Parasite host

Four species are host to obligate slave-making ants in the genus Rossomyrmex, with each species forming a coevolving pair:[4]

Species

  • P. striaticeps from Greece
    P. striaticeps from Greece

See also

  • Rossomyrmex, genus of ant that parasitizes Proformica species

References

  1. ^ Bolton, B. (2014). "Proformica". AntCat. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Genus: Proformica". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. ^ Agosti, D. (1994). "The phylogeny of the ant tribe Formicini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with the description of a new genus". Systematic Entomology. 19 (2): 93–117. Bibcode:1994SysEn..19...93A. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1994.tb00581.x. S2CID 83590673.
  4. ^ Ruano, F.; Sanllorente, O.; Lenoir, A.; Tinaut, A. (2013), "Rossomyrmex, the Slave-Maker Ants from the Arid Steppe Environments", Psyche: A Journal of Entomology, 2013: 1–7, doi:10.1155/2013/541804


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