Prolasius advenus

Prolasius advenus
Prolasius advenus worker
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Prolasius
Species: P. advenus
Binomial name
Prolasius advenus
(Smith, F., 1862)

Prolasius advenus is a species of ant in the genus Prolasius.[1] It is endemic to New Zealand, widespread across the North and South Islands, including offshore islands.[2] It is a relatively small ant, with workers 2.9-3.5mm in length. Its common name is small brown bush ant.

Biology

Colonies can include hundreds of workers and multiple queens. Prolasius advenus is found in a variety of forest habitats. It is a generalist forager, preying upon and scavenging small arthropods, as well as tending mealy-bugs and scale insects for honeydew.[2]

References

  1. Bolton, B. (2015). "Prolasius advenus". AntCat. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Prolasius advenus | Ant factsheets | Landcare Research". www.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-05-29.

AntWiki lists the species under the synonym Prolasius advena

Lessons from Little Creatures: article on New Zealand ants from NZ National Geographic.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 5/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.