Myrmicocrypta

Myrmicocrypta are monomorphic, evolutionary primitive attine ants. Attine ants maintain a mutualism with symbiotic fungi, which are cultured inside their nest. The substrate for the fungus collected by Myrmicocrypta varies with availability around their nest. Many of the collected substrate items are fallen flowers and fruits but they also collect leaves, seeds, wood, insect feces and insect corpses in the leaf litter. These ants forage only in the close vicinity (1-2 m) of their nests (Leil & Oliveira 2000).
There are 28 descibed species and subspecies but no taxonomic revision of the group exists.

Myrmicocrypta JHB01 Bihn ms.

Peduncle of petiolus without ventral tooth. Spatulate hairs on head more or less evenly distributed.

Myrmicocrypta JHB02 Bihn ms.

Peduncle of petiolus bears a minute tooth ventrally. Distribution of spatulate hairs on head follows a pattern.

Offline References for Myrmicocrypta:

Leil, I.R. & P.S. Oliveira, 2000: Foraging ecology of attine ants in a Neotropical savanna: seasonal use of fungal substrate in the cerrado vegetation of Brazil. Insectes Sociaux, 47:376-382.

Online References for Myrmicocrypta:

Date of this version: 3/27/2007