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Myrmecia urens

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Species of ant

Myrmecia urens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmeciinae
Genus: Myrmecia
Species: M. urens
Binomial name
Myrmecia urens
Lowne, 1865

Myrmecia urens is a species of ant in the genus Myrmecia (bulldog ants) found in Australia.

Taxonomy

Behaviour and ecology

While pollination by ants is somewhat rare, the orchid Leporella fimbriata is a myrmecophyte which can only be pollinated by the winged males of this species. Pollination of this orchid usually occurs between April and June during warm afternoons, and may take several days until the males all die due to their limited lifespan. The flower mimics M. urens queens, and so the males move from flower to flower in an attempt to copulate with it.

References

  1. Beattie, Andrew J.; Turnbull, Christine; Knox, R. B.; Williams, E. G. (1984). "Ant Inhibition of Pollen Function: A Possible Reason Why Ant Pollination is Rare". American Journal of Botany. 71 (3): 421–426. doi:10.2307/2443499. JSTOR 2443499.
  2. Peakall, Rod (1989). "The unique pollination of Leporella fimbriata (Orchidaceae): Pollination by pseudocopulating male ants (Myrmecia urens, Formicidae)". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 167 (3–4): 137–148. doi:10.1007/BF00936402. ISSN 1615-6110. JSTOR 23673944. S2CID 27901569.
  3. Peakall, Rod; Angus, Craig J.; Beattie, Andrew J. (October 1990). "The significance of ant and plant traits for ant pollination in Leporella fimbriata". Oecologia. 84 (4): 457–460. doi:10.1007/BF00328160. ISSN 1432-1939. JSTOR 4219450. PMID 28312960. S2CID 45589875.
  4. Peakall, R.; Beattie, A. J.; James, S. H. (October 1987). "Pseudocopulation of an orchid by male ants: a test of two hypotheses accounting for the rarity of ant pollination". Oecologia. 73 (4): 522–524. doi:10.1007/BF00379410. ISSN 1432-1939. JSTOR 4218401. PMID 28311968. S2CID 3195610.
  5. Pridgeon, Alec M. (2001). Genera Orchidacearum. Volume 2, Orchidoideae (part 1). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-19-850710-9.
  6. Thompson, John N. (1994). The coevolutionary process. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-226-79759-5.
  7. Cingel, N. A. van der (2000). An atlas of orchid pollination: America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Rotterdam, South Holland: Balkema. p. 200. ISBN 978-90-5410-486-5.
Taxon identifiers
Myrmecia urens


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