Neivamyrmex

is the most diverse and widely-distributed of the new world army ant genera, and the only army ant found in the temperate regions of North America. Although these insects are not uncommon, they are not often encountered because of their partly subterranean habits. Most species are specialized predators of other ant species.

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Neivamyrmex nigrescens is a predator of other ant species. The different sizes of workers in a colony are specialized for carrying different prey sizes.

Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, USA

Neivamyrmex opacithorax

Chiricahua Mountain, Arizona, USA

A queen Neivamyrmex opacithorax army ant surrounded by her much smaller worker offspring.

Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA

A queen Neivamyrmex opacithorax army ant. Her enormous abdomen houses ovaries for egg production. Queen army ants are among the most fecund of all insects, as army ant colonies may have tens or hundreds of thousands of worker ants (such as the small ant pictured riding on top) and the reproduction is the work of a single mother queen.

Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA

Neivamyrmex opacithorax. Army ants carrying brood. Notice how the ants carry their pupae, slung under their bellies in typical army-ant style.

Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA

Neivamyrmex opacithorax army ant queen with a retinue of workers. Unlike most queen ants which are born with wings for dispersal and large eyes for visual navigation, army ant queens are always wingless and have greatly reduced eyes.

Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA

Neivamyrmex pilosus is among the more commonly encountered of the Neotropical army ants. Like most Neivamyrmex species, they are specialist predators on other ants. However, this species is unusual in its preference for arboreal (or tree-nesting) ants. I observed this colony taking Azteca, Crematogaster, and Brachymyrmex.

Gamboa, Panama

Army ant males are most commonly seen at night. They sometimes end up at lights as they disperse on wing from their natal colonies. This army ant, Neivamyrmex swainsonii, is a broadly-distributed species found from the southern United States to northern Argentina.

Peña Blanca Lake, Arizona, USA

Neivamyrmex nigrescens is a predator of other ant species. The different sizes of workers in a colony are specialized for carrying different prey sizes.

Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, USA

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Keywords: caste hymenoptera neivamyrmex ecitoninae army ants army ant formicidae neivamyrmex nigrescens worker ants polymorphic social insects ant trail worker polymorphism ant predation size variation

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Neivamyrmex

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