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 A. berwicki worker
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Acropyga is a genus of small formicine ants.
Some species can be indirect pests. A. acutiventris, which is found from India to Australia, tends subterranean, root-feeding mealybugs of the species Xenococcus annandalei. Living, gravid females are carried in the jaws of A. acutiventris queens during their nuptial flight, to establish the symbiotic association in founding colonies. Other Acropyga species have relationships with different species of mealybugs, and it could be a trait common to the whole genus.1
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Description
Acropyga are smaller than 3.5 mm, with a compact, stocky body. They have antennae with 10 or 11 segments (including the scape), short palps and reduced eyes with four to 30 individual ommatidia. In some species the eyes are completely absent.2
Distribution
Acropyga is found in the Americas, southern Africa, India to Southeast Asia and Australia. A. palearctica is known only from Greece.
Species
References
- ITIS: Genus Acropyga
- Australian Ants Online: Genus Acropyga
- Taylor, Robert W. (1992): Nomenclature and distribution of some Australian and New Guinean Ants of the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Aust. ent. Soc. 31: 57-69. PDF
Further reading
- Wheeler, William M. (1935): Ants of the genus Acropyga Roger, with description of a new species. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 43: 321-329. PDF
- LaPolla, John S. & Fisher, Brian L. (2005)): A Remarkable New Species of Acropyga (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gabon, with a Key to the Afrotropical Species. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 56(30): 601-605. PDF
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Acropyga |
- myrmecos.net: A. acutiventris carrying a mealybug
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This ant–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 17 January 2008, at 09:34.
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