Anergates
Encyclopedia
Anergates is a single-species genus
of tetramorine
Myrmicine
ant
s. It is a worker-less obligate parasite to Tetramorium caespitum, the "lawn ant" or "pavement ant", and is thought to have evolved as an aberrant form of the genus Tetramorium
.
Its distribution is local over Eurosiberia and eastern parts of North America
, broadly following that of its hosts. It is present but local in southern parts of Great Britain
, having first been discovered in the UK by H. St. J. K. Donisthorpe
and W. C. Crawley on July 23, 1912 in the New Forest
.
Since, unlike many other obligate social parasites, Anergates is never known to coexist with the host colony's fertile queen, every Anergates-Tetramorium colony is doomed to survive only the lifespan of the youngest Tetramorium workers. Thus, the parasitic queen has very limited scope for producing alates to secure the next generation, as this time span is often only 2–3 years or fewer. As a result, even within its well-established range, Anergates is very scarce, with only a tiny proportion of Tetramorium colonies playing host to this parasite.
Type species: Myrmica atratula Schenck, 1852.
The genus name combines the Greek of "to work" έργατης with the negative prefix α, on account of its parasitic nature.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of tetramorine
Tetramoriini
Tetramoriini is a tribe of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.-Characteristics:The Tetramoriini has the following derived characters:*Sting with a spatulate to pennant-shaped lamellate appendage that projects from the dorsum of the shaft...
Myrmicine
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants. There are about 140 genera within the group, with the family being cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes...
ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s. It is a worker-less obligate parasite to Tetramorium caespitum, the "lawn ant" or "pavement ant", and is thought to have evolved as an aberrant form of the genus Tetramorium
Tetramorium
Tetramorium is a genus of insect in family Formicidae.Tetramorium was first described in the same publication as Monomorium.-Distribution:...
.
Its distribution is local over Eurosiberia and eastern parts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, broadly following that of its hosts. It is present but local in southern parts of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, having first been discovered in the UK by H. St. J. K. Donisthorpe
Horace Donisthorpe
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.He is often considered...
and W. C. Crawley on July 23, 1912 in the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
.
Since, unlike many other obligate social parasites, Anergates is never known to coexist with the host colony's fertile queen, every Anergates-Tetramorium colony is doomed to survive only the lifespan of the youngest Tetramorium workers. Thus, the parasitic queen has very limited scope for producing alates to secure the next generation, as this time span is often only 2–3 years or fewer. As a result, even within its well-established range, Anergates is very scarce, with only a tiny proportion of Tetramorium colonies playing host to this parasite.
Type species: Myrmica atratula Schenck, 1852.
The genus name combines the Greek of "to work" έργατης with the negative prefix α, on account of its parasitic nature.
Species
- Anergates atratulus (Schenck, 1852)
See also
- List of parasitic ant species
- Tetramorium caespitum
- Strongylodus testaceus (another parasite of Tetramorium found in the UK)
- Horace DonisthorpeHorace DonisthorpeHorace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.He is often considered...
(myrmecologist who first recorded this species in Britain, and the first to make a detailed study of its habits) - List of ant genera (alphabetical)