Temnothorax
genus of insects
Temnothorax is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains more than 500 species.
Biology
The workers of Temnothorax species are generally small (mesosoma length 0.715 mm). Colonies are typically monogynous, although facultative polygyny has been documented in several species. Colony populations are usually quite small, often with less than 100 workers. However, several studies have found colonies of some species to be widely dispersed with several to many satellite nests. Many species are arboreal, living within hollow stems, old beetle or termite galleries, or in galls. Temnothorax species appear to be trophic generalists, feeding on a wide variety of scavenged items, including the elaiosomes of seeds. None have been documented to be active or aggressive predators.
Phylogenetics
Recent molecular phylogenetic studies show that the genera Chalepoxenus, Myrmoxenus and Protomognathus are nested within Temnothorax, and that the latter is distinct from the more distantly related genera Formicoxenus, Leptothorax and Harpagoxenus.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Temnothorax” is genus of insects. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Temnothorax, genus and insects, not as a finished interpretation.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4050817. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Temnothorax” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.