Army ant

Army ant (or legionary ant or "Marabunta") means over 200 ant species. They are called army ants due to their aggressive predatory groups looking for food, known as "raids", in which many ants look for food at the same time in one place, attacking other animals collectively.

Army ants do not build a nest like most other ants. Instead, they build a living, temporary nest with their bodies. All army ant species are part of the ant family, Formicidae. There are several kinds that have evolved on their own the same behavior. This is called "legionary behavior", and is convergent evolution.

 Usage 

Before, "army ant" meant ants from 5 different ant subfamilies: in two of these subfamilies, the Ponerinae and Myrmicinae, it is only a few species that show legionary behavior; in the other three subfamilies, Ecitoninae, Dorylinae, and Leptanillinae, all of the species are legionary. Now, another subfamily Leptanilloidinae, is called army ants.

A 2003 study of thirty species (by Sean Brady of Cornell University) shows that the ecitonine and doryline army ants evolved from one group in the mid-Cretaceous period in Gondwana,BBC News, Dr. David Whitehouse, "Ant history revealed" 10 May 2003. and so the two subfamilies are now one called Ecitoninae, but not everyone says this.

These are army ants:

 Subfamily Ponerinae
 Leptogenys (some species)
 Onychomyrmex
 Simopelta

 Subfamily Myrmicinae
 Pheidolegeton

 Subfamily Leptanilloidinae
 Asphinctanilloides
 Leptanilloides

 Subfamily Leptanillinae
 Anomalomyrma
 Leptanilla
 Phaulomyrma
 Protanilla
 Yavnella

 Subfamily Ecitoninae
 Aenictus
 Cheliomyrmex
 Dorylus
 Eciton
 Labidus
 Neivamyrmex
 Nomamyrmex

Related pages
 Driver ant

 References 

 Further reading 




 Wilson, Edward O, and Bert Hölldobler, (1990) The Ants (Pulitzer Prize)

Other websites
 A Comprehensive Ant Website 
 Army Ants Plug Potholes , March 2009.
 Army ant research page: personal website on research and computer modeling of army ants
 Instinct to swarm

Category:Ants