Myrmica
- Dataset
- The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark.
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Arthropoda
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Hymenoptera
- family
- Formicidae
- genus
- Myrmica
biology_ecology
Myrmica ants are robust, deliberate moving, nesting in stumps, under stones or in banks. Colonies are relatively small with individuals numbering from a few hundred to about 5000 according to species. Foraging is on the ground surface.
description
This holarctic genus includes about 70 species of which 10 occur in North Europe. Head oval, clypeus rounded, frontal lobes prominent; alitrunk with pronotum rounded antero-laterally, a well defined mesopropodeal furrow and, in most species, strongly developed propodeal spines. Pedicel with two large nodes - the petiole with a stout antero-ventral tooth and the postpetiole which, rubbed against the fine transverse striae on the first gaster segment, gives an audible stridulation. All tibial spurs are distinctly pectinate except in a very few semi-parasitic species. Gaster in female castes armed with a strong sting. Fore-wing in male and queen have the cubital cell characteristically partially divided by a transverse vein. Palp formula 6, 4; antennae 12 segmented in female caste, 13 in male.