Stenamma

The ants of this genus are carnivorous and occur in small colonies, usually in wooded areas, where they nest under leaf mold, moss, rocks or logs or in rotten wood. They are sluggish and timid and are rarely seen outside the nest.

Distribution
Stenamma has been collected from North America south through Central America to northern South America (Colombia and Ecuador), Europe, northern Africa (Morocco and Algeria), temperate Asia, and Japan. No species are known to occur in the Indo-Australian region.

Biology
Stenamma Westwood (1839) comprises an unfamiliar genus of cryptic, cold-adapted myrmicine ants that occur throughout most of the northern hemisphere. Although rarely encountered by the casual observer, Stenamma is frequently collected in extracts of sifted leaf litter. Many species are represented by only a few samples and not much is known about their natural history. (Branstetter 2009)

Nomenclature

 *  STENAMMA [Myrmicinae: Stenammini]
 * Stenamma Westwood, 1839: 219. Type-species: Stenamma westwoodii, by monotypy.
 * Stenamma senior synonym of Asemorhoptrum: André, 1883a: 310.
 * Stenamma senior synonym of Theryella: Santschi, 1923a: 136.
 * ASEMORHOPTRUM [junior synonym of Stenamma]
 * Asemorhoptrum Mayr, 1861: 76. Type-species: Myrmica lippula, by monotypy.
 * Asemorhoptrum junior synonym of Stenamma: André, 1883a: 310.
 * [Asemorhoptrum as junior synonym of Proatta: Snelling, R.R. 1981: 395 (in error).]
 * THERYELLA [junior synonym of Stenamma]
 * Theryella Santschi, 1921d: 68. Type-species: Theryella myops (provisional junior synonym of Stenamma punctiventre), by monotypy.
 * Theryella junior synonym of Stenamma: Santschi, 1923a: 136.
 * [Theryella junior synonym of Proatta: Snelling, R.R. 1981: 395 (error).]