• 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)

• Myrmicine Ants (Subfamily Myrmicinae)

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Myrmicine ants are typically characterized by a two-segmented waist consisting of a petiole and postpetiole, well-developed antennae, and, in most species, a functional sting used for defence or prey capture. Colonies may contain a few dozen individuals or millions of workers organized into complex caste systems. Ecologically, myrmicine ants perform a wide variety of roles as predators, scavengers, herbivores, seed dispersers, decomposers, and ecosystem engineers, making them one of the most influential and successful groups of insects on Earth.