Proformica

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

Proformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. 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.

Parasite host

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

Species

See also

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, hdl:10481/98053