Myrmecina graminicola
| Myrmecina graminicola | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Myrmecina |
| Species: | M. graminicola
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| Binomial name | |
| Myrmecina graminicola | |
| Subspecies | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Myrmecina graminicola is a species of ant found throughout Northern Africa, Europe, Asia, and elsewhere in the Palearctic realm. Its colonies build nests in soil, under rocks, and in leaf litter.[3] It was described in 1802 by Pierre André Latreille,[1] initially in the genus Formica.[2] They are not an aggressive species. When a worker encounters an intruder, it starts to play dead with its legs and antennae folded. They live in colonies that have less than 100 workers and one queen. Before mating, the female ant releases a pheromone that the male ant is attracted to this and the mating then occurs seconds after. The ant colonies move around following the queen's pheromone trail.[4]
Male Myrmecina graminicola ants have been observed flying at high elevations (between 5 and 20 meters above the ground) during their mating flights, which is unusual for a species that normally nests and forages near the soil surface.[5] Recent research has also identified several distinctive morphological traits in males, including a small hook-shaped structure on the dorsum and the absence of spurs on the middle and hind legs, features that help differentiate them from other species within the same genus.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Hymenoptera Online (HOL)". hol.osu.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ a b "Myrmecina graminicola". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ "Myrmecina graminicola". www.antweb.org. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
- ^ Lenoir, Alain; Khalil, Alix; Châline, Nicolas; Hefetz, Abraham (October 2018). "New chemical data on the ant Myrmecina graminicola (Formicidae, Myrmicinae): Unusual abundance of alkene hydrocarbons and esters". Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 80: 39–42. Bibcode:2018BioSE..80...39L. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2018.06.004.
- ^ Buschinger, A. (2003). "Mating behavior in the ant, Myrmecina graminicola (Myrmicinae)". Insectes Sociaux. 50 (3): 295–296. doi:10.1007/s00040-003-0679-z. ISSN 0020-1812.
- ^ Cantone, Stefano; Riccieri, Alessandra; Di Giulio, Andrea (2024). Tomanovic, Zeljko (ed.). "Fine Morphological Study of the Myrmecina graminicola (Latreille, 1802) Male, With First Description of External Genitalia in the Genus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmecinae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2024 (1). doi:10.1155/2024/5251286. hdl:11590/476371. ISSN 0033-2615.