Mycocepurus smithii

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Mycocepurus smithii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Mycocepurus
Species: M. smithii
Binomial name
Mycocepurus smithii
(Forel, 1893)

Mycocepurus smithii casent0179467 profile 1.jpg

Mycocepurus smithii casent0179467 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

A wide ranging member of its genus it has been shown that asexual reproduction, which is know from many populations, has secondarily evolved numerous times. (Rabeling et al. 2011)

At a Glance • Parthenogenetic  

Identification

This is one of the two species in which the workers lack the well-developed promesonotal spines in the center of the crown. Generally there is a very low, sharp crest in this region. In most cases, it can be separated from the other species that lacks these spines, the Brazilian Mycocepurus obsoletus, on the basis of the distributions. Otherwise, it can be separated by the lateral pronotal spines, which are long and sharp, not short and blunt as in M. obsoletus. Specimens that have bumps in the center of the crown of spines, could be confused with Mycocepurus tardus, but can be usually separated as M. tardus has definite promesonotal spines. The females have small lateral pronotal spines, and tiny inferior lateral pronotal spines. The females are slightly larger than those of Mycocepurus curvispinosus (~ 3 mm total length). Additionally the propodeal spines are bent slightly downward. These characters would easily separate it from females of M. curvispinosus. (Mackay et al. 2004)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 25.68015° to -26.80873°.

     
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Greater Antilles, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
pChart

Habitat

Ranging from open, disturbed areas, burned rain forest, sub-deciduous tropical forests, to tropical rain forests, and moist gullies.

Biology

Explore-icon.png 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.

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.

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.

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. ‎

Mackay et al. (2004) provides the following synopsis - Kempf (1963) reviewed the biology of this species. It nests only in the soil (Torres 1989), often with the entrance surrounded by a turret. Specimens in México are often found nesting under stones. The nest cavity is very small, only a few cm in diameter, and is connected with several fine, threadlike, tunnels. The nest may be as deep as a meter. There are often several nests in a single area, which suggests a single large nest with multiple entrances. The colonies are polygynous. The small, sluggish workers carry dry leaves, caterpillar dung (Kempf, 1963) and bat dung (Levins et al. 1973) back to the nest, where they culture their fungus. Populations vary greatly over time, and they may be abundant in some areas (Torres 1989, Majer, 1997). This species may be associated with the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens, and is often found in the same habitat as Mycocepurus goeldii, with which it has mixed mating swarms, although hybridization apparently does not occur. This species apparently tolerates a number of other species in its nest, including Mycocepurus curvispinosus, Solenopsis sp. (thief ants) and Acropyga sp. It forages together with M. curvispinosus.

Kellner et al. (2015) - Mycocepurus smithii is an unusual attine ant since it is the only known asexually reproducing fungus-farming ant (Himler et al. 2009; Rabeling et al. 2009), such that each colony is comprised of a single ant clone tending a garden with a single fungus clone (Kellner et al. 2013).

In our study population in central Panama, we found a total of 11 ant clones and 9 fungus clone lineages in 52 colonies. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that ant colonies regularly exchange fungal cultivars or domesticate novel fungi from free-living populations into symbiosis (Kellner et al. 2013).

Our analysis of bacterial communities of M. smithii colonies from the field shows that colonies of ants and fungus gardens are distinct from their surroundings, and that the microbiome of ants and fungus gardens is mostly dominated by the genera Lactobacillus and Pantoea. Another discovery was the lack of significant differentiation between ant- and garden-associated bacterial communities, which contrasts with the findings of similar analyses on the higher derived attine Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (Ishak et al. 2011a), where ant- and garden-associated bacteria formed distinct communities. These results suggest that M. smithii ants and symbiotic fungi may exchange bacteria when the ants move through their gardens or ingest garden material with the result that the bacterial communities are homogenized to a greater extent than in the higher attine T. septentrionalis. Mycocepurus smithii bacterial communities were also clearly separated from the surrounding nestwalls and adjunct soil from outside the nests; thus, the bacteria found on ants and gardens are not the result of accidental contamination from environmental sources such as the surrounding soil. This suggests that the ants are able to shape their own microbial environment, and most likely control the microbial communities on their cuticle and on the gardens by grooming off unwanted harmful bacteria (Ferńandez-Maŕın et al. 2009).

Our analysis of fragments of a single fungus garden shows that microbial communities within M. smithii gardens are not homogeneous. Gardens of M. smithii have a hanging structure, with curtain-like strands hanging from the ceiling of the nest cave, which is unlike the relatively solid globule-shaped gardens typical of most leaf-cutting ants and other higher derived attines (Seal and Tschinkel 2008). Within a single strand, the fungus grows from top to bottom (the ants elongate the strand as it grows). Because M. smithii in the field and in the lab start new gardens in the center of a chamber ceiling rather than near the ceiling periphery, it is likely that each garden has an age profile from the inside to the outside (central older parts, peripheral younger parts). The nine garden fragments analyzed clustered into five likely groups, with the central (presumably older) parts forming one of these groups.

Regional Notes

Haiti

From Wheeler and Mann (1914): Several workers....were taken at Cape Haitien and Diquini. The nests in the latter locality were in the form of small craters and were located in clay soil in a moist spot in a gully formed by a small stream. Several colonies were nesting in an area about 25 ft. square, but in no other place in the neighborhood. At Cape Haitien only a single colony was found and this was nesting in a road leading across the mountains and nearly at the summit.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Mycocepurus smithii casent0173989 head 1.jpgMycocepurus smithii casent0173989 profile 1.jpgMycocepurus smithii casent0173989 dorsal 1.jpgMycocepurus smithii casent0173989 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173989. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ALWC, Alex L. Wild Collection.

Nomenclature

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

  • smithii. Atta (Mycocepurus) smithii Forel, 1893g: 370 (w.) ANTILLES. Kempf, 1963b: 425 (q.). Combination in Mycocepurus: Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1914: 42. Senior synonym of attaxenus, bolivianus, borinquenensis, eucarnitae, manni, reconditus, tolteca, trinidadensis: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • borinquenensis. Atta (Mycocepurus) smithi var. borinquenensis Wheeler, W.M. 1907c: 718 (w.) PUERTO RICO. Combination in Mycocepurus: Emery, 1924d: 335. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • tolteca. Atta (Mycocepurus) smithi var. tolteca Wheeler, W.M. 1907c: 718 (w.) MEXICO. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • eucarnitae. Mycocepurus smithii var. eucarnitae Forel, 1913l: 235 (w.) CUBA. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • attaxenus. Trachymyrmex attaxenus Menozzi, 1936b: 85 (w.q.) BRAZIL. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • reconditus. Mycocepurus reconditus Borgmeier, 1937b: 246, figs. 34-36 (w.q.) BRAZIL. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • trinidadensis. Mycocepurus smithi var. trinidadensis Weber, 1937: 378, fig. 1 (w.q.) TRINIDAD. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • bolivianus. Mycocepurus bolivianus Weber, 1938b: 155, fig. 8 (w.) BOLIVIA. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.
  • manni. Mycocepurus manni Weber, 1938b: 156, figs. 1, 2 (q.) BOLIVIA. Junior synonym of smithii: Kempf, 1963b: 425.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Achury R., and A.V. Suarez. 2017. Richness and composition of ground-dwelling ants in tropical rainforest and surrounding landscapes in the Colombian Inter-Andean valley. Neotropical Entomology https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-017-0565-4
  • Ahuatzin D. A., E. J. Corro, A. Aguirre Jaimes, J. E. Valenzuela Gonzalez, R. Machado Feitosa, M. Cezar Ribeiro, J. Carlos Lopez Acosta, R. Coates, W. Dattilo. 2019. Forest cover drives leaf litter ant diversity in primary rainforest remnants within human-modified tropical landscapes. Biodiversity and Conservation 28(5): 1091-1107.
  • Alayo D. P. 1974. Introduccion al estudio de los Himenopteros de Cuba. Superfamilia Formicoidea. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Zoologia. Serie Biologica no.53: 58 pp. La Habana.
  • Alonso L. E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams. 2016. Biodiversity assessment survey of the south Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No.1, 306 pages.
  • Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
  • Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.
  • Boer P. 2019. Ants of Saba, species list. Accessed on January 22 2019 at http://www.nlmieren.nl/websitepages/SPECIES%20LIST%20SABA.html
  • Borgmeier T. 1948. Die Geschlechtstiere zweier Eciton-Arten und einige andere Ameisen aus Mittel- und Suedamerika (Hym. Formicidae). Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 19: 191-206.
  • Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
  • 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.
  • Costa-Milanez C. B., G. Lourenco-Silva, P. T. A. Castro, J. D. Majer, and S. P. Ribeiro. 2014. Are ant assemblages of Brazilian veredas characterised by location or habitat type? Braz. J. Biol. 74(1): 89-99.
  • Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
  • Del Toro, I., M. Vázquez, W.P. Mackay, P. Rojas and R. Zapata-Mata. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Tabasco: explorando la diversidad de la mirmecofauna en las selvas tropicales de baja altitud. Dugesiana 16(1):1-14.
  • Dias N. S., R. Zanetti, M. S. Santos, J. Louzada, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2008. Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of the ant communities (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 98(1): 136-142.
  • Escalante Gutiérrez J. A. 1993. Especies de hormigas conocidas del Perú (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista Peruana de Entomología 34:1-13.
  • Fernandes, P.R. XXXX. Los hormigas del suelo en Mexico: Diversidad, distribucion e importancia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Fichaux M., B. Bechade, J. Donald, A. Weyna, J. H. C. Delabie, J. Murienne, C. Baraloto, and J. Orivel. 2019. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia 189(2): 501-513.
  • Fontanla Rizo J.L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba. Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
  • Fontenla J. L. 2005. Species of ants (Formicidae) recorded in the Sierra de Cubitas and adjacent areas, Camagüey Province, 16-19 September 2002. In: Díaz, L., M., W. S. Alverson, A. Barreto V., y / and T. Wachter. 2006. Cuba: Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 08. The Field Museum, Chicago
  • Fontenla J. L., and J. Alfonso-Simonetti. 2018. Classification of Cuban ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) into functional groups. Poeyana Revista Cubana de Zoologia 506: 21-30.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Composición y estructura de comunidades de hormigas en un sistema de formaciones vegetales costeras. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 441: 1-19.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Mirmecofauna de Isla de la Juventud y de algunos cayos del archipielago cubano. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 444:1-7.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
  • Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part II. 3me sous-famille Myrmicinae Lep. (Attini, Dacetii, Cryptocerini). Mémoires de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 19: 179-209.
  • Forel A. 1913. Fourmis d'Argentine, du Brésil, du Guatémala & de Cuba reçues de M. M. Bruch, Prof. v. Ihering, Mlle Baez, M. Peper et M. Rovereto. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles. 49: 203-250.
  • Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
  • Galkowski C. 2016. New data on the ants from the Guadeloupe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 151, 44(1): 25-36.
  • Garcia M. A. The vulnerability of leaflitter ants to forest disturbances in the islands of Puerto Rico, Greater Antilles. Novitates Caribaea 13: 74-91.
  • Garcia-Martinez M. A., V. Vanoye-Eligio, O. R. Leyva-Ovalle, P. Zetina-Cordoba, M. J. Aguilar-Mendez, and M. Rosas-Mejia. 2019. Diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a sub-montane and sub-tropical cityscape of Northeastern Mexico. Sociobiology 66(3): 440-447.
  • Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, F. Petitclerc, B. Corbara, M. Leponce, R. Cereghino, and A. Dejean. 2017. Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest. Ecological Indicators 82: 43-49.
  • Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, M. Leponce, J. Orivel, R. Silvestre, Heraldo L. Vasconcelos, and A. Dejean. 2013. Leaf-litter ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover. Myrmecological News 19: 43-51.
  • Groc S., J. Orivel, A. Dejean, J. Martin, M. Etienne, B. Corbara, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2009. Baseline study of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a French Guianese forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity 2: 183-193.
  • Harada A. Y., P. R. Silva Farias, L. de Fatima Campos Lopes, A. G. da Silva, A. D. de Sousa Brandao. 2013. Assessment of ant communities in secondary forest in the eastern Amazon. Comunicata Scientiae 4(2): 186-194.
  • Himler, A.G., E.J. Caldera, B.C. Baer, H. Fernandez-Marinand U.G. Mueller. 2009. No sex in fungus-farming ants or their crops. Proceedings of the Royal Society B
  • Jaffe, K., Mauleon, H. and Kermarrec A. 1990. Predatory Ants of Diaprepes Abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) In Citrus Groves In Martinique and Guadeloupe, F.W.I. Florida Entomologist. 73(4):684-687.
  • Jaffe, Klaus and Lattke, John. 1994. Ant Fauna of the French and Venezuelan Islands in the Caribbean in Exotic Ants, editor D.F. Williams. 182-190.
  • Kempf W. W. 1963. A review of the ant genus Mycocepurus Forel, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 6: 417-432.
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Klingenberg, C. and C.R.F. Brandao. 2005. The type specimens of fungus growing ants, Attini (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 45(4):41-50
  • Kusnezov N. 1953. La fauna mirmecológica de Bolivia. Folia Universitaria. Cochabamba 6: 211-229.
  • Kusnezov N. 1963. Zoogeografia de las hormigas en sudamerica. Acta Zoologica Lilloana 19: 25-186
  • Kusnezov N. 1978. Hormigas argentinas: clave para su identificación. Miscelánea. Instituto Miguel Lillo 61:1-147 + 28 pl.
  • Landero-Torres I., I. Madrid-Neco, J. E. Valenzuela-Gonzalez, M. E. Galindo-Tovar, O. R. Leyva-Ovalle, J. Murguia-Gonzalez, H. E. Lee-Espinosa, and M. A. Garcia-Martinez. 2014. Myrmecofuana from three ornamental agroecosystems with different management and a forest remnant in Ixtaczoquitlan, Veracruz, Mexico. Southwestern Entomologist 39(4): 783-795.
  • Levings S. C. 1983. Seasonal, annual, and among-site variation in the ground ant community of a deciduous tropical forest: some causes of patchy species distributions. Ecological Monographs 53(4): 435-455.
  • Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
  • Longino J. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
  • Mackay, W.P., J.-P. Maes, P. Rojas Fernandez and G. Luna. 2004. The ants of North and Central America: the genus Mycocepurus (Hymentopera: Formicidae). Journal of Insect Science 4:27.
  • Maes, J.-M. and W.P. MacKay. 1993. Catalogo de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Nicaragua. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomologia 23.
  • Mann W. M. 1920. Additions to the ant fauna of the West Indies and Central America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 42: 403-439.
  • Marinho C. G. S., R. Zanetti, J. H. C. Delabie, M. N. Schlindwein, and L. de S. Ramos. 2002. Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Diversity in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) Plantations and Cerrado Litter in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 31(2): 187-195.
  • Mirmecofauna de la reserva ecologica de San Felipe Bacalar
  • Nascimento Santos M., J. H. C. Delabie, and J. M. Queiroz. 2019. Biodiversity conservation in urban parks: a study of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio de Janeiro City. Urban Ecosystems https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00872-8
  • Orsolon-Souza G., C. E. L. Esberard, A. J. Mayhe-Nunes, A. B. Vargas, S. Veiga-Ferreira, and E. Folly-Ramos. 2011. Comparison between Winkler’s extractor and pitfall traps to estimate leaf litter ants richness (Formicidae) at a rainforest site in southest Brazil. Braz. J. Biol. 71(4): 873-880.
  • Perez-Gelabert D. E. 2008. Arthropods of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti): A checklist and bibliography. Zootaxa 1831:1-530.
  • Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
  • Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2002. Mirmecofauna de los macizos montañosos de Sierra Maestra y Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa. Cocuyo 12: 10-13
  • Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2006. Species of hymenopterans recorded in Siboney-Juticí Ecological Reserve, Santiago de Cuba Province, compiled from collections during the rapid inventory of 27-28 September 2002. Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y / and J. M. Shopland, eds. 2005. Cuba: Siboney-Juticí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 10. The Field Museum, Chicago.
  • Portuondo Ferrer E., and J. L. Fernández Triana. 2005. Species of hymenopterans (bees, wasps, and ants) recorded in Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, from literature records, revision of the collection at BIOECO, and collections before and during the rapid inventory, 12-22 February 2004. In Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y/and T. Wachter, eds. 2005. Cuba: Parque Nacional “Alejandro de Humboldt.” Rapid Biological Inventories Report 14. The Field Museum, Chicago.
  • Portuondo Ferrer, E. and J. Fernandez Triana. Biodiversidad del orden Hymenoptera en Los Macizos Montanosos de Cuba Oriental. Boletin S.E.A. 35:121-136.
  • Rabeling C., J. Lino Neto, S. C. Cappellari, I. A. Santos, U. G. Mueller, and M. Bacci. 2009. Thelytokous parthenogenesis in the fungus-gardening ant Mycocepurus smithii (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PLoS ONE 4(8): e6781. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006781.
  • Ramos L. S., R. Z. B. Filho, J. H. C. Delabie, S. Lacau, M. F. S. dos Santos, I. C. do Nascimento, and C. G. S. Marinho. 2003. Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the leaf-litter in cerrado “stricto sensu” areas in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Lundiana 4(2): 95-102.
  • Ramos L. de S., C. G. S. Marinho, R. Zanetti, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2003. Impacto de iscas formicidas granuladas sobre a mirmecofauna não-alvo em eucaliptais segundo duas formas de aplicacação / Impact of formicid granulated baits on non-target ants in eucalyptus plantations according to two forms of application. Neotropical Entomology 32(2): 231-237.
  • Ramos L. de S., R. Zanetti, C. G. S. Marinho, J. H. C. Delabie, M. N. Schlindwein, and R. P. Almado. 2004. Impact of mechanical and chemical weedings of Eucalyptus grandis undergrowth on an ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Árvore 28(1): 139-146.
  • Resende J. J., G. M. de M. Santos, I. C. do Nascimento, J. H. C. Delabie, and E. M. da Silva. 2011. Communities of ants (Hymenoptera – Formicidae) in different Atlantic rain forest phytophysionomies. Sociobiology 58(3): 779-799.
  • Reyes, J. L. "Inventario de la colección de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba." Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa 36 (2005): 279-283.
  • Rojas P., C. Fragoso, and W. P. MacKay. 2014. Ant communities along a gradient of plant succession in Mexican tropical coastal dunes. Sociobiology 61(2): 119-132.
  • Sanchez-Pena S. R. 2010. Some fungus-growing ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from northeastern Mexico. Florida Entomologist 93(4): 501-504.
  • Santos P. P., A. Vasconcelos, B. Jahyny, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2010. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) associated to arboreal nests of Nasutitermes spp. (Isoptera, Termitidae) in a cacao plantation in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 54(3): 450–-454.
  • Silva F. H. O., J. H. C. Delabie, G. B. dos Santos, E. Meurer, and M. I. Marques. 2013. Mini-Winkler Extractor and Pitfall Trap as Complementary Methods to Sample Formicidae. Neotrop Entomol 42: 351–358.
  • Silvestre R., M. F. Demetrio, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2012. Community Structure of Leaf-Litter Ants in a Neotropical Dry Forest: A Biogeographic Approach to Explain Betadiversity. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/306925
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, P. de Tarso Amorim Castro, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2012. Annual and Seasonal Changes in the Structure of Litter-Dwelling Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic Semideciduous Forests. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/959715
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, W. Duarte da Rocha, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2011. As comunidades de formigas de serapilheira nas florestas semidecíduas do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais. MG.BIOTA, Belo Horizonte 3(5): 5-24.
  • Smith M. R. 1937. The ants of Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 20: 819-875.
  • Sobrinho T., J. H. Schoereder, C. F. Sperber, and M. S. Madureira. 2003. Does fragmentation alter species composition in ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)? Sociobiology 42(2): 329-342.
  • Solomon S. E., C. Rabeling, J. Sosa-Calvo, C. Lopes, A. Rodrigues, H. L. Vasconcelos, M. Bacci, U. G. Mueller, and T. R. Schultz. 2019. The molecular phylogenetics of Trachymyrmex Forel ants and their fungal cultivars provide insights into the origin and coevolutionary history of ‘higher-attine’ ant agriculture. Systematic Entomology 44: 939–956.
  • Torres J.A. 1984. Niches and Coexistence of Ant Communities in Puerto Rico: Repeated Patterns. Biotropica 16(4): 284-295.
  • Torres, Juan A. and Roy R. Snelling. 1997. Biogeography of Puerto Rican ants: a non-equilibrium case?. Biodiversity and Conservation 6:1103-1121.
  • Vargas R. P. 1964. Clave para identificar los Formicidae de la provincia de Chiclayo. Revista Peruana de Entomologia 7(1): 98-102.
  • Vasconcelos H. L., B. B. Araujo, A. J. Mayhé-Nunes. 2008. Patterns of diversity and abundance of fungus-growing ants (Formicidae: Attini) in areas of the Brazilian Cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 25(3): 445-450.
  • Vasconcelos, H.L., J.M.S. Vilhena, W.E. Magnusson and A.L.K.M. Albernaz. 2006. Long-term effects of forest fragmentation on Amazonian ant communities. Journal of Biogeography 33:1348-1356
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2007. Primer registro para San Luis Potosí y nuevos registros para Jalisco de Mycocepurus smithii (Forel, 1893) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n. s.), 23 (3): 145-146
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Weber N. A. 1934. Notes on neotropical ants, including the descriptions of new forms. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 4: 22-59.
  • Weber N. A. 1937. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part l. New forms. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 7: 378-409.
  • Weber N. A. 1938. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part IV. Additional new forms. Part V. The Attini of Bolivia. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 9: 154-206.
  • Weber N. A. 1945. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part VIII. The Trinidad, B. W. I., species. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 16: 1-88.
  • Weber N. A. 1946. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part IX. The British Guiana species. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 17: 114-172.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1907. The fungus-growing ants of North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 23: 669-807.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1908. The ants of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24: 117-158.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1913. The ants of Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 54: 477-505.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Neotropical ants of the genera Carebara, Tranopelta and Tranopeltoides, new genus. American Museum Novitates 48: 1-14.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. The ants of Trinidad. American Museum Novitates 45: 1-16.
  • Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1914. The ants of Haiti. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 33: 1-61.
  • Wheeler, William Morton. 1916. Ants Collected in Trinidad by Professor Roland Thaxter, Mr. F. W. Urich, and Others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard University. 40(8):322-330
  • Wheeler, William Morton. 1936. Ants From Hispaniola and Mona Island. Bulletin: Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 80(2):192-211.
  • Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.
  • da Silva Araujo, M., Castro Della Lucia, T.M., DA VEIGA, Clayton E y CARDOSO DO NASCIMENTO, Ivan. 2004. Efeito da queima da palhada de cana-de-açúcar sobre comunidade de formicídeos. Ecol. austral. 14(2): 191-200.
  • da Silva de Oliveira A. B., and F. A. Schmidt. 2019. Ant assemblages of Brazil nut trees Bertholletia excelsa in forest and pasture habitats in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Biodiversity and Conservation 28(2): 329-344.
Retrieved from "https://antwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Mycocepurus_smithii&oldid=697889"