Glandular ants

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Glandular ants
Tapinoma melanocephalum

Tapinoma melanocephalum

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Subordination : Waist Wasps (Apocrita)
Family : Ants (Formicidae)
Subfamily : Glandular ants
Scientific name
Dolichoderinae
Forel , 1878

The glandular ants ( Dolichoderinae) are a subfamily within the ants (Formicidae). In addition to the gland ants , the knot ants (Myrmicinae), the primeval ants ( Ponerinae) and the scale ants (Formicinae) are among the widespread groups of ants in Central Europe .

features

The gland ants have a simple stalk limb ( petiolus ) without a postpetiolus. There are no noticeable constrictions between the segments of the guest , which consists of four limbs. Instead of a venomous spine, they only have a slit-shaped cloacal opening between the telson and hypopygium . The stalk member is down and directed obliquely forward. The hardly hairy larvae develop into naked pupae .

Glands

The postpygidal gland is absent. The dorsal opening of the metapleural gland is narrowed towards the front and widened towards the rear. Defense secretions are released through the pygidal gland . The pygidal gland produces cyclopentanoid monoterpenes ( iridoids ).

Similar subfamilies

Many, especially the small species of gland ants, look very similar to scale ants, but the gap-shaped cloacal opening at the end of the abdomen, instead of the tubular acid pore with a fringe of hair, is a clear distinguishing feature.

Occurrence

Species of gland ants can be found almost everywhere on earth in a wide variety of habitats.

Way of life

Almost all species of gland ants are hunters or scavengers. However, some species feed on honeydew or the sweet excretions of butterfly caterpillars , especially bluebells . The nests are built in the earth, in wood and dead wood , in crevices between rocks and also in termite mounds. In the species of the genus Bothriomyrmex , the queen kills those of another ant nest and can build up her state with the help of the workers who are now available (temporary social parasitism ).

Systematics

Over 700 species of gland ants have been described worldwide. They are divided into the following genera :

swell

Individual evidence

  1. a b Bernhard Seifert : The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1
  2. Heiko Bellmann : bees, wasps, ants. Hymenoptera of Central Europe . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-440-09690-4
  3. Barry Bolton : Synopsis and classification of Formicidae in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute , Volume 71, 2003, 1-370.
  4. Dolichoderinae Taxon Count. (No longer available online.) Hymenoptera Name Server, formerly the original ; Retrieved May 28, 2008 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / atbi.biosci.ohio-state.edu  
  5. Dolichoderinae. Tree Of Life web project, accessed May 30, 2008 .
  6. Alexander L. Wild & Fabiana Cuezzo: Rediscovery of a fossil dolichoderine ant lineage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) and a description of a new genus from South America . In: Zootaxa . tape 1142 , 2006, p. 57–68 ( PDF, 650kB [accessed July 20, 2013]). PDF, 650kB ( Memento of the original dated August 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / gap.entclub.org

literature

Web links

Commons : Glandular Ants  - Collection of images, videos and audio files