Nylanderia
genus of insects
Nylanderia is a large genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution with species inhabiting a wide array of habitats in almost all geographic regions. Nylanderia, currently containing over 110 species, is an ecologically important genus, with some species reported as being invasive. The ants are small to medium in size and range in color from pale yellow to black.
Taxonomy
The genus was first described as a subgenus of Prenolepis by Emery (1906), a status he revised a couple of years later when he placed it as subgenus of Paratrechina (Emery, 1925). Wheeler (1936) raised Nylanderia to genus, where it remained until Brown (1973) provisionally placed it as a junior synonym of Paratrechina, a status which was later confirmed by Trager (1984). Nylanderia was finally revived from synonymy and restored at the rank of genus by LaPolla, Brady & Shattuck (2010).
Until 2010, most Nylanderia species were placed in the genus Paratrechina, but molecular phylogenic studies and reassessment of morphological characters prompted resurrection of Nylanderia as a valid genus. The genus currently comprises over 108 extant species and two fossil species: N. pygmaea from Eocene age Baltic amber and N. vetula from Miocene age Dominican amber.
Phylogenetics
After examining the phylogenetic relationships of Nylanderia and related genera, LaPolla, Brady & Shattuck (2011) placed Nylanderia within a well-defined Prenolepis-genus group containing Euprenolepis, Nylanderia, Paratrechina (sensu stricto), Paraparatrechina, Prenolepis, and Pseudolasius.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Nylanderia” as genus of insects. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of insects. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q10338326. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1906, 1925, 1936 and 1973.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
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- Classification context
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Nylanderia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Nylanderia primary sources, Nylanderia archive and Nylanderia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Nylanderia” 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.