Atta mexicana

Atta mexicana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Atta
Species:	A. mexicana
Binomial name
	Atta mexicana; (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Label

Photo Gallery

Major worker.

Identification

Identification Keys including this Taxon

Key to US Atta species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 33.78962° to -34.471447°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States.
Neotropical Region: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Biology

Explore Fungus Growing

For additional details see Fungus growing ants.

A handful of ant species (approx. 275 out of the known 15,000 species) have developed the ability to cultivate fungus within their nests. In most species the fungus is used as the sole food source for the larvae and is an important resource for the adults as well. Additionally, in a limited number of cases, the fungus is used to construct part of the nest structure but is not as a food source.

These fungus-feeding species are limited to North and South America, extending from the pine barrens of New Jersey, United States, in the north (Trachymyrmex septentrionalis) to the cold deserts in Argentina in the south (several species of Acromyrmex). Species that use fungi in nest construction are known from Europe and Africa (a few species in the genera Crematogaster, Lasius).

The details of fungal cultivation are rich and complex. First, a wide variety of materials are used as substrate for fungus cultivating. The so-called lower genera include species that prefer dead vegetation, seeds, flowers, fruits, insect corpses, and feces, which are collected in the vicinity of their nests. The higher genera include non leaf-cutting species that collect mostly fallen leaflets, fruit, and flowers, as well as the leafcutters that collect fresh leaves from shrubs and trees. Second, while the majority of fungi that are farmed by fungus-feeding ants belong to the family Lepiotaceae, mostly the genera Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus, other fungi are also involved. Some species utilise fungi in the family Tricholomataceae while a few others cultivate yeast. The fungi used by the higher genera no longer produce spores. Their fungi produce nutritious and swollen hyphal tips (gongylidia) that grow in bundles called staphylae, to specifically feed the ants. Finally, colony size varies tremendously among these ants. Lower taxa mostly live in inconspicuous nests with 100–1000 individuals and relatively small fungus gardens. Higher taxa, in contrast, live in colonies made of 5–10 million ants that live and work within hundreds of interconnected fungus-bearing chambers in huge subterranean nests. Some colonies are so large, they can be seen from satellite photos, measuring up to 600 m3.

Based on these habits, and taking phylogenetic information into consideration, these ants can be divided into six biologically distinct agricultural systems (with a list of genera involved in each category):

Nest Construction

A limited number of species that use fungi in the construction of their nests.

some Crematogaster
some Lasius

Lower Agriculture

Practiced by species in the majority of fungus-feeding genera, including those thought to retain more primitive features, which cultivate a wide range of fungal species in the tribe Leucocoprineae.

Coral Fungus Agriculture

Practiced by species in the Apterostigma pilosum species-group, which cultivate fungi within the Pterulaceae.

some Apterostigma

Yeast Agriculture

Practiced by species within the Cyphomyrmex rimosus species-group, which cultivate a distinct clade of leucocoprineaceous fungi derived from the lower attine fungi.

some Cyphomyrmex

Generalized Higher Agriculture

Practiced by species in several genera of non-leaf-cutting "higher attine" ants, which cultivate a distinct clade of leucocoprineaceous fungi separately derived from the lower attine fungi.

Leaf-Cutter Agriculture

A subdivision of higher attine agriculture practiced by species within several ecologically dominant genera, which cultivate a single highly derived species of higher attine fungus.

Note that the farming habits of Mycetagroicus (4 species) are unknown. Also, while species of Pseudoatta (2 species) are closely related to the fungus-feeding genus Acromyrmex, they are social parasites, living in the nests of their hosts and are not actively involved in fungus growing. ‎

Association with Other Organisms

Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

This species is a host for the pteromalid wasp Spalangia attae (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (associate).
This species is a host for the fungus Beauveria bassiana (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest).
This species is a host for the phorid fly Eibesfeldtphora mexicanae (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
This species is a host for the phorid fly Neodohrniphora sp. (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Flight Period

					X	X
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

Check details at Worldwide Ant Nuptial Flights Data, AntNupTracker and AntKeeping.

Explore: Show all Flight Month data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb


Worker. Specimen code casent0421377. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Phylogeny

Atta

Atta mexicana

	Atta insularis

	Atta texana

	Atta cephalotes

	Atta colombica

	Atta robusta

	Atta sexdens

	Atta saltensis

	Atta vollenweideri

	Atta bisphaerica

	Atta goiana

Atta laevigata

	Atta capiguara

	Atta opaciceps

Based on Barrera, C.A. et al., 2021. Note that only selected species are included.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

mexicana. Oecodoma mexicana Smith, F. 1858b: 185, pl. 10, fig. 20 (q.m.) MEXICO (no state data).
- Type-material: syntype queen(s), syntype male(s) (numbers not stated).
- Type-locality: Mexico: (no further data).
- Type-depository: BMNH.
- Norton, 1868c: 9 (s.w.).
- Combination in Atta: Roger, 1863b: 35;
- combination in Atta (Archeatta): Gonçalves, 1942: 343.
- Junior synonym of fervens: Roger, 1863b: 35; Mayr, 1865: 81; Forel, 1885a: 362; Mayr, 1886d: 442; Dalla Torre, 1893: 152; Forel, 1899c: 33.
- Subspecies of insularis: Emery, 1913b: 259; Emery, 1924d: 354.
- Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 438; Norton, 1868a: 66; Norton, 1868c: 9; Wheeler, W.M. 1907c: 703; Wheeler, W.M. 1934f: 140; Wheeler, W.M. 1935g: 34; Gonçalves, 1942: 343; Borgmeier, 1950d: 261; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 832; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 138; Borgmeier, 1959b: 351 (redescription); Smith, M.R. 1967: 363; Kempf, 1972a: 27; Hunt & Snelling, 1975: 22; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1413; Cherrett & Cherrett, 1989: 53; Bolton, 1995b: 76; Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 257.
- Distribution: El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, U.S.A..

Description

Female. Length 8-9 lines. Obscurely ferruginous, nearly black;closely resembling Atta cephalotes, but the thorax is more elongate; the second node of the abdomen wider, with the lateral angels produced and acute; the base of the abdomen truncated, the first segment longer than broad; in other respects resembling Atta cephalotes, but more hairy or downy.

Male. In size and form resembling the male of Atta cephalotes but of a uniform pale reddish yellow; the second abdominal node much wider.

The insect described as Atta laevigata is probably the worker of this species; in the Museum are several specimens from Mexico.

References

Alatorre-Bracamontes, C.E., Vásquez-Bolaños, M. 2010. Lista comentada de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del norte de México. Dugesiana 17(1): 9-36.
Baena, M.L., Escobar, F., Valenzuela, J.E. 2019. Diversity snapshot of green–gray space ants in two Mexican cities. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 40, 239–250 (doi:10.1007/s42690-019-00073-y).
Barcoto, M.O., Carlos-Shanley, C., Fan, H., Ferro, M., Nagamoto, N.S., Bacci, M., Currie, C.R., Rodrigues, A. 2020. Fungus-growing insects host a distinctive microbiota apparently adapted to the fungiculture environment. Scientific Reports 10: 12384 (doi:10.1038/S41598-020-68448-7).
Barrera, C.A., Sosa-Calvo, J., Schultz, T.R., Rabeling, C., Bacci, M., Jr 2021. Phylogenomic reconstruction reveals new insights into the evolution and biogeography of Atta leaf-cutting ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47: 13-35 (doi:10.1111/syen.12513).
Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 76, catalogue)
Borgmeier, T. 1959b. Revision der Gattung Atta Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. (n.s.) 2: 321-390 (page 351, see also)
Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
Emery, C. 1913b. Über die Abstammung der europäischen arbeiterinnenlosen Ameise Anergates. Biol. Centralbl. 33: 258-260 (page 259, Revived from synonymy as subspecies of insularis)
Forel, A. 1885a [1884]. Études myrmécologiques en 1884 avec une description des organes sensoriels des antennes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 20: 316-380 (page 362, Junior synonym of fervens)
Gonçalves, C. R. 1942. Contribuiça~o para o conhecimento do gênero Atta Fabr., das formigas saúvas. Bol. Soc. Bras. Agron. 5: 333-358 (page 335, Revived status as species)
Gonçalves, C. R. 1942. Contribuiça~o para o conhecimento do gênero Atta Fabr., das formigas saúvas. Bol. Soc. Bras. Agron. 5: 333-358 (page 343, Combination in Atta (Archeatta))
Mintzer, A. C.; Mintzer, C. L. 1988. Population status of the Mexican leafcutting ant, Atta mexicana (Formicidae), in the Sonoran desert of Arizona. The Southwestern Naturalist 33:250-251.
Mueller, U.G., Ishak, H.D., Bruschi, S.M., Smith, C.C., Herman, J.J., Solomon, S.E., Mikheyev, A.S., Rabeling, C., Scott, J.J., Cooper, M., Rodrigues, A., Ortiz, A., Brandão, C.R.F., Lattke, J.E., Pagnocca, F.C., Rehner, S.A., Schultz, T.R., Vasconcelos, H.L., Adams, R.M.M., Bollazzi, M., Clark, R.M., Himler, A.G., LaPolla, J.S., Leal, I.R., Johnson, R.A., Roces, F., Sosa-Calvo, J., Wirth, R., Bacci, M. 2017. Biogeography of mutualistic fungi cultivated by leafcutter ants. Molecular Ecology 26, 6921–6937 (doi:10.1111/mec.14431).
Norton, E. 1868a. Notes on Mexican ants. Am. Nat. 2: 57-72 (page 66, soldier, worker described)
Norton, E. 1868c. Description of Mexican ants noticed in the American Naturalist, April, 1868. Proc. Essex Inst. (Commun.) 6: 1-10 (page 9, soldier, worker described)
Roger, J. 1863b. Verzeichniss der Formiciden-Gattungen und Arten. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7(B Beilage: 1-65 (page 35, Combination in Atta)
Smith, F. 1858a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp.(page 185, pl. 10, fig. 20 queen, male described)
Toledo-Hernández, E., Hernández-Flores, J., Sotelo-Leyva, C., Alvear-García, A., Peña-Chora, G. 2021. A new enemy of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae): First report of Nomamyrmex esenbeckii (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) attacking honey bee colonies. Journal of Apicultural Research, 1–2 (doi:10.1080/00218839.2021.1987740).
Varela-Hernández, F., Medel-Zosayas, B., Martínez-Luque, E.O., Jones, R.W., De la Mora, A. 2020. Biodiversity in central Mexico: Assessment of ants in a convergent region. Southwestern Entomologist 454: 673-686.
Varela-Hernández, F., Riquelme, F. 2024. Pheidole praehistorica sp. nov., a new addition to spiny ants of the genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839 (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Oligo–Miocene Mexican amber. European Journal of Taxonomy 968: 86-97 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.968.2719).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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Author Unknown. 2004. Mirmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) comu?n del estero El Salado y Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Me?xico. Dugesiana 11(1):13-20.
Cancino, E.R., D.R. Kasparan, J.M.A. Coronado Blanco, S.N. Myartseva, V.A. Trjapitzin, S.G. Hernandez Aguilar and J. Garcia Jimenez. 2010. Himenópteros de la Reserva El Cielo, Tamaulipas, México. Dugesiana 17(1):53-71
Castano-Meneses, G., M. Vasquez-Bolanos, J. L. Navarrete-Heredia, G. A. Quiroz-Rocha, and I. Alcala-Martinez. 2015. Avances de Formicidae de Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Cupul-Magana F. G., and M. Vasquez-Bolanos. 2019. New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from María Cleofas Island, Gulf of California, Mexico. Dugesiana 26(1): 27-29.
Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
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Flores-Maldonado K. Y., S. A. Phillips, and G. Sanchez-Ramos. 1999. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an altitudinal gradient in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Northeastern Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist 44(4): 457-461.
Flores-Maldonado, K. Y., S. A. Phillips-Jr, and G. Sanchez-Ramos. 1999. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an altitudinal gradient in the Sierra Madre Oriental of Northeastern Mexico. The Southwestern Naturalist 44: 457-461.
Fortanelli Martinez, J., and M. E. Servin Montoya. 2002. Desechos de hormiga arriera (Atta mexicana Smith), un abono organico para la produccion horticola. Terra Latinoamericana 20: 153-160.
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