Forelius pusillus
Forelius pusillus worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Forelius
Species:
F. pusillus
Binomial name
Forelius pusillus
Santschi, 1922
Synonyms
  • Neoforelius tucumanus Kusnezov, 1953

Forelius pusillus is a species of ant in the genus Forelius. Described by Santschi in 1922, the species is endemic to South America.[1]

Behaviour

Forelius pusillus is noted to perform "pre-emptive defensive self-sacrifice", where a group of ants leave the security of the nest after sealing the entrance from the outside each evening.[2]

References

  1. ^ Cuezzo, F. 2000. Revisión del género Forelius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae). Sociobiology 35: 197-275 (page 263, Raised to species and senior synonym of tucumanus)
  2. ^ Tofilski, Adam; Couvillon, Margaret J.; Evison, Sophie E. F.; Helanterä, Heikki; Robinson, Elva J. H.; Ratnieks, Francis L. W. (2008-11-01). "Preemptive Defensive Self‐Sacrifice by Ant Workers". The American Naturalist. 172 (5): E239–E243. doi:10.1086/591688. ISSN 0003-0147. PMID 18928332. S2CID 7052340.

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