Linepithema

Linepithema
Linepithema humile (Argentine ant) worker from California
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Tribe: Leptomyrmecini
Genus: Linepithema
Mayr, 1866
Type species
Linepithema fusca
Mayr, 1866
Diversity[1]
20 species

Linepithema is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae.[2]

Distribution

L. humile ants patrolling on a plant (Ficus sur) in South Africa, well outside their native range

Their native distribution rage from northern Mexico, east into the Caribbean, and south to into northern Argentina. Two species have been spread around the world by human activities: L. iniquum and L. humile. The latter is better known as the Argentine ant, an invasive species with notable presence in Mediterranean climates. Linepithema species are found from sea level and up to 4,000 meters above sea level in the Andes.[3]

Species

References

  1. Bolton, B. (2014). "Linepithema". AntCat. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. "Genus: Linepithema". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  3. Wild, A. L. (2007). "Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Linepithema (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).". University of California Publications in Entomology 126: 1–151.

External links