The subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae is a distinctive group of arboreal ants with large eyes, slender bodies (Fig. 1), and agile movements. These features make the ants well adapted to navigating three-dimensional vegetation and nesting in confined places such as dead twigs. Although pseudomyrmecine ants are most diverse in tropical rainforests, they also occupy more arid habitats, including savanna woodlands, shrublands, and deserts, and some species live in subtropical and warm temperate regions. Most species of Pseudomyrmecinae nest opportunistically in dead stems or branches, in cavities excavated by other insects. A significant minority of species have developed intimate, mutualistic relationships with domatia-bearing plants: the ants receive shelter and food from their host plant, and, in return, they protect the plant from herbivores and encroaching plants.
Pseudomyrmex gracilis worker and immature stages (three larvae, two pupae). (Photo © Alex Wild)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bolton, B. (2003). Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 71, 1–370.
Branstetter, M. G., Longino, J. T., Ward, P. S., & Faircloth, B. C. (2017). Enriching the ant tree of life: Enhanced UCE bait set for genome-scale phylogenetics of ants and other Hymenoptera. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8, 768–776. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12742.
Chomicki, G., Ward, P. S., & Renner, S. (2015). Macroevolutionary assembly of ant/plant symbioses: Pseudomyrmex ants and their ant-housing plants in the Neotropics. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 282, 20152200. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2200.
Heil, M., Barajas-Barron, A., Orona-Tamayo, D., Wielsch, N., & Svatos, A. (2014). Partner manipulation stabilises a horizontally transmitted mutualism. Ecology Letters, 17, 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.12215.
Janzen, D. H. (1966). Coevolution of mutualism between ants and acacias in Central America. Evolution, 20, 249–275. https://doi.org/10.2307/2406628.
Ward, P. S. (1990). The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Generic revision and relationship to other formicids. Systematic Entomology, 15, 449–489. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.1990.tb00077.x.
Ward, P. S., & Branstetter, M. G. (2017). The acacia ants revisited: Convergent evolution and biogeographic context in an iconic ant/plant mutualism. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 284, 20162569. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.2569.
Ward, P. S., & Downie, D. A. (2005). The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants. Systematic Entomology, 30, 310–335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.2004.00281.x.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Ward, P.S. (2021). Pseudomyrmecinae. In: Starr, C.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_168
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_168
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28101-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28102-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences