Proformica

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

Proformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae.[2] The genus is known from the Palearctic region, 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

  • Proformica alaica Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1926
  • Proformica buddhaensis Ruzsky, 1915
  • Proformica caucasea (Santschi, 1925)
  • Proformica coriacea Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Proformica dolichocephala Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Proformica epinotalis Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Proformica ferreri Bondroit, 1918
  • Proformica flavosetosa (Viehmeyer, 1922)
  • Proformica jacoti (Wheeler, 1923)
  • Proformica kaszabi Dlussky, 1969
  • Proformica kobachidzei Arnol'di, 1968
  • Proformica korbi (Emery, 1909)
  • Proformica kosswigi (Donisthorpe, 1950)
  • Proformica kusnezowi (Santschi, 1928)
  • Proformica longiseta Collingwood, 1978
  • Proformica mongolica (Emery, 1901)
  • Proformica nasuta (Nylander, 1856)
  • Proformica nitida Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1923
  • Proformica oculatissima (Forel, 1886)
  • Proformica ossetica Dubovikoff, 2005
  • Proformica pilosiscapa Dlussky, 1969
  • Proformica seraphimi Tarbinsky, 1970
  • Proformica similis Dlussky, 1969
  • Proformica splendida Dlussky, 1965
  • Proformica striaticeps (Forel, 1911)

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: 93–117. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1994.tb00581.x.
  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

External links