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BugGuide Gathering
Smoky Mountains
University of Tennessee Biological Field Station
August 8-10, 2008
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Photos from the last gathering (Minnesota 2007)

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Genus Prenolepis - False Honey Ants

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
Family Formicidae (Ants)
Subfamily Formicinae
Genus Prenolepis (False Honey Ants)
Size
3-4 mm
Identification
mandible triangular, with 5 or 6 teeth (rarely 7); in dorsal view, mesonotum severely constricted giving the mesosoma a distinctive hourglass-like shape; dorsal surface of mesosoma smooth and very shiny
Range
most of the United States, plus southern Ontario and Mexico
Internet References
overview of genus and the single nearctic species (Kye Hedlund, U. of North Carolina)
pinned adult image of P. imparis (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)