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Temnothorax americanus

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(Redirected from Protomognathus americanus) Species of ant

Temnothorax americanus
Temnothorax americanus worker
Conservation status

Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Genus: Temnothorax
Species: T. americanus
Binomial name
Temnothorax americanus
(Emery, 1895)

Temnothorax americanus is a species of slave-maker ant in the genus Temnothorax. The ants are 2–3 mm in size, and endemic to the northeastern United States and adjacent Canadian regions. They do not forage for food, but instead 'scout workers' from the colony seek out nearby host colonies of ants (e.g. Temnothorax longispinosus), steal larvae and bring them back to their own colony. A small T. americanus colony could consist of a queen, two to five workers and thirty to sixty slaves.

In a study published in Animal Behaviour, researchers showed that T. americanus scouts target stronger colonies over weaker ones to steal larvae from.

It was formerly placed as the sole member of the genus Protomognathus.

References

  1. ^ Social Insects Specialist Group (1996). "Protomognathus americanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T18379A8177548. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T18379A8177548.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. Modlmeier, Andreas P.; Foitzik, Susanne (2011). "Productivity increases with variation in aggression among group members in Temnothorax ants". Behavioral Ecology. 22 (5): 1026–1032. doi:10.1093/beheco/arr086. ISSN 1465-7279.
  3. ^ Davies, Davies (8 November 2010). "Slave-making ants target the strong not the weak". BBC News. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  4. Pohl, Sebastian; Foitzik, Susanne (2011). "Slave-making ants prefer larger, better defended host colonies". Animal Behaviour. 81 (1): 61–68. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.09.006. S2CID 53177420.
  5. Ward, Philip S.; Brady, Sean G.; Fisher, Brian L.; Schultz, Ted R. (2015). "The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Systematic Entomology. 40 (1): 61–81. Bibcode:2015SysEn..40...61W. doi:10.1111/syen.12090. ISSN 1365-3113. S2CID 83986771.

External links

Taxon identifiers
Temnothorax americanus


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