| Cardiocondyla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| C. wroughtonii ergatoid male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Alliance: | Cataulacus genus group |
| Genus: | Cardiocondyla Emery, 1869 |
| Type species | |
| Cardiocondyla elegans Emery, 1869 | |
| Diversity | |
| 88 species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Dyclona Santschi, 1930 | |
Cardiocondyla is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Approximately 90 species are currently recognized as belonging to this genus, most of which are distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics, but a few of which occur in the temperate zone. Some species are also found widely separated in North America and the Pacific Islands, as a result of human introduction.
Several species of this genus have a striking male polymorphism, with both winged and wingless forms. These males differ not only in morphology, but also in reproductive tactics. Closely related genera are Leptothorax, Stereomyrmex and Romblonella.
Cardiocondyla elegans worker ants transport young queen ants to alien nests to promote outbreeding. This allows avoidance of inbreeding depression. The worker ants, sisters of these queens, may transport the queens several meters from their natal nest and drop them off at another, alien nest to promote outbreeding with wingless stationary males in a process somewhat analogous to third party matchmaking in humans. After mating during the winter, the sexual females may depart in the spring and find their own colonies.
As of 2026, Cardiocondyla contains 88 valid species, including 87 extant and one extinct.
One species in the genus has been noted to be unidentifiable to species level as its descriptions was lost or too vague and the type specimens lost, although it theoretically remains a valid binomen. It is listed below.
This article incorporates text from a scholarly publication published under a copyright license that allows anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute the materials in any form for any purpose: Okita, I.; Murase, K.; Sato, T.; Kato, K.; Hosoda, A.; Terayama, M.; Masuko, K. (2013). "The Spatial Distribution of mtDNA and Phylogeographic Analysis of the Ant Cardiocondyla kagutsuchi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Japan". Sociobiology. 60 (2): 129–134. doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v60i2.129-134. Please check the source for the exact licensing terms.
Data related to Cardiocondyla at Wikispecies
Media related to Cardiocondyla at Wikimedia Commons