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The ant genus Formicoxenus is notable for the fact that all its species are xenobiotic and live inside or in close association with the nests of other ant species. Here, we report the occurrence of a colony of Formicoxenus quebecensis and its host, Myrmica alaskensis from the eastern side of the Door peninsula in Wisconsin. Both species are new records for the state, and F. quebecensis was previously known only from boreal habitats much farther north in Canada. We also provide some observations on this colony’s nest demography, morphology, and feeding behavior and discuss the ant community of this biogeographically interesting location.  

Abstract The classification of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has progressed in waves since the first 17 species were described by Linnaeus in the 1758 edition of Systema Naturae. Since then, over 18,000 species-rank names have accumulated for the global myrmecofauna, of which ~14,260 living and ~810 fossil species are valid. Here, we provide a synopsis of ant biodiversity and review the history and classification of the family, while highlighting the massive growth of the field in the new millennium. We observe that major transformation has occurred for ant classification due to advances in DNA sequencing technologies, model-based hypothesis testing, and imaging technologies. We therefore provide a revised and illustrated list of diagnostic character states for the higher clades of Formicidae, recognizing that vastly more work is to be done. To facilitate discussion and the systematic accumulation of evolutionary knowledge for the early evolution of the ants, we suggest an informal nomenclatural system for the higher clades of ants, based on names currently in use and a set of names that have been democratically selected by the authors. To guide future work on ant systematics, we summarize currently available databases and present perspectives on regions in need of biodiversity exploration, challenges facing the field, and the future of ant taxonomy. 

Temnothorax (Myrmicinae, Crematogastrini) is one of the most diverse Holarctic ant genera, and new taxonomic advancements are still frequent worldwide. The Mediterranean region, a global biodiversity hotspot characterized by a complex geographic history, is home to a substantial portion of its described diversity. Sicily is the region’s largest island and, as ongoing investigations are revealing, it is inhabited by a long-overlooked but highly diverse ant fauna that combines multiple biogeographic influences. We combined qualitative and quantitative morphology of multiple castes with phylogenomic analysis based on ultra-conserved elements (UCEs) to describe four species of Temnothorax endemic to Sicily and the neighboring Maltese Islands (Sicilian Channel). Three of these species, T. marae Alicata, Schifani & Prebus sp. nov., T. poldii Alicata, Schifani & Prebus sp. nov. and T. vivianoi Schifani, Alicata & Prebus sp. nov., are new to science, while a redescription clarifies the identity of T. lagrecai (Baroni Urbani, 1964). These descriptions highlight the current difficulties of delimiting monophyletic Temnothorax species groups based on morphological characters. The intra-insular endemicity patterns we revealed highlight the importance of Mediterranean paleogeography to contemporary ant diversity and distribution in the region. 

In this study, we revise two groups of cryptic leaf litter ants, the Strumigenys nitens and Strumigenys simulans species groups. These two groups are restricted to the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. We redefine the species groups, provide a key for the five species in the S. nitens group, and differentiate the two species in the S. simulans group. Four new species are described: Strumigenys caiman sp. nov., S. economoi sp. nov., S. hubbewatyorum sp. nov., and S. zemi sp. nov. We review and provide a key for the Strumigenys fauna of Hispaniola, which comprises the two endemic species S. economoi and S. zemi, six more broadly distributed Neotropical species, and three pan-tropical “tramp” species.