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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps » Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets (Vespoidea) » Ants (Formicidae) » Ponerinae » Ponerini » Panther Ants (Pachycondyla) » Hairy Panther Ant (Pachycondyla villosa)

Species Pachycondyla villosa - Hairy Panther Ant

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited
hairy panther ant, dorsal view - Pachycondyla villosa - female hairy panther ant, frontal view - Pachycondyla villosa - female hairy panther ant, side view - Pachycondyla villosa - female Big black ant - Pachycondyla villosa Big black ant - Pachycondyla villosa ant unknown - Pachycondyla villosa
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Bees, Ants, and other Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Vespoidea (Ants, Stinging Wasps, and Hornets)
Family Formicidae (Ants)
Subfamily Ponerinae
Tribe Ponerini
Genus Pachycondyla (Panther Ants)
Species villosa (Hairy Panther Ant)
Other Common Names
Greater Texas Bullet Ant - coined by E. G. Riley
Giant Hunting Ant (1)
Cobra Ant (2)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Formica villosa
Neoponera villosa
Ponera bicolor
P. pilosa
P. pedunculata
Sympatric crypto-species have been documented in Brazil but not yet in the US.
Explanation of Names
"villosa" a Greek root meaning "hairy", probably a reference to the erect hairs on the mesosomal dorsum
Numbers
4 spp. n. of Mex.
Size
Largest ponerine ant in the US
Range
Southern Texas south to northern Argentina (1)
Habitat
Lowland and mid-elevation forests. Cavity nesters using logs, stumps, dead trees, knot-holes, dead sections of live trees, and the bases of epiphytes. Nests may be at ground level but foraging is primarily arboreal.
Food
Predatory on a wide range of arthropods, mostly taken in the forest canopy. Workers also known to harvest extrafloral nectar and carry it back to the colony for larvae and colony members.
Remarks
Has a very painful sting. May be a model for several ant-mimicking spiders and hemiptera.
Internet References
Ants of Costa Rica
Ants of North America
AntWeb
Works Cited
1.Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America
By Eric Eaton, Kenn Kaufman
2.Latin American Insects and Entomology
By Charles L. Hogue
Contributed by Joshua Stuart Rose on 14 September, 2007 - 11:30am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn
Last updated 7 October, 2009 - 11:53pm

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