SUBFAMILY PSEUDOMYRMECINAE

• Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

• Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

• Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

• Insects (Class Insecta)

• Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

• Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies (Order Hymenoptera)

• Narrow-waisted Wasps, Ants, and Bees (Suborder Apocrita)

• Ants, Bees, and Stinging Wasps (Infraorder Aculeata)

• Superfamily Formicoidea

• Ants (Family Formicidae)

• Pseudomyrmecine Ants (Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae)

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Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae is a small but distinctive group of ants found primarily in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. Members of this subfamily are characterized by their slender, elongated bodies, long legs, large eyes, and agile movements, adaptations that are well suited to an arboreal lifestyle. Some species form highly specialized mutualistic relationships with acacias and other trees, nesting within hollow thorns or stems and receiving food resources from the plant. In return, the ants aggressively defend their host against herbivores and competing vegetation.