Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 27, 2026

Dolichoderinae

Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants that includes species such as the Argentine ant, the erratic ant, the odorous house ant, and the cone ant. The subfamily presents a great diversity of species throughout the world, distributed in different biogeographic realms, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions.

Last revised
May 27, 2026
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Dolichoderinae
Iridomyrmex purpureus feeding on honey
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Clade: Dolichoderomorpha
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Forel, 1878
Type genus
Dolichoderus
Lund, 1831

Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants that includes species such as the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), the erratic ant, the odorous house ant, and the cone ant. The subfamily presents a great diversity of species throughout the world, distributed in different biogeographic realms, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions.1

The subfamily is distinguished by having a single petiole (no post-petiole) and a slit-like orifice, from which chemical compounds are released. Dolichoderine ants do not possess a sting, unlike ants in some other subfamilies, such as Ponerinae and Myrmicinae, instead relying on the chemical defensive compounds produced from the anal gland.2

Of the compounds produced by dolichoderine ants, several terpenoids were identified including the previously unknown iridomyrmecin, isoiridomyrmecin, and iridodial.3 Such compounds are responsible for the smell given off by ants of this subfamily when crushed or disturbed.

Tribes and genera

Dolichoderini consists of at least 5 tribes and 48 genera:4

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Cardoso, D.; Cristiano, M. P.; Barros, L. S.; Lopes, D.; Pompolo, S. (2012). "First cytogenetic characterization of a species of the arboreal ant genus Azteca Forel, 1978 (Dolichoderinae, Formicidae)". Comparative Cytogenetics. 6 (2): 107–14. Bibcode:2012ComCy...6..107C. doi:10.3897/CompCytogen.v6i2.2397. PMC 3833797. PMID 24260655.
  2. Fisher, Brian L. and Stefan P. Cover (2007) Ants of North America: a guide to the genera
  3. Wilson, E. O.; Pavan, M. (1959). "Glandular Sources and Specificity of Some Chemical Releasers of Social Behavior in Dolichoderine Ants". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 66 (4): 70. doi:10.1155/1959/45675.
  4. Bolton, B. (2015). "Dolichoderinae". AntCat. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
External links