Linepithema | |
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Linepithema humile (Argentine ant) worker from California | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
Tribe: | Leptomyrmecini |
Genus: | Linepithema Mayr, 1866 |
Type species | |
Linepithema fuscum Mayr, 1866
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Diversity[1] | |
20 species |
Linepithema is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae.[2]
Their native distribution rage from northern Mexico, east into the Caribbean, and south into northern Argentina. Two species have been spread around the world by human activities: L. iniquum and L. humile. The latter is better known as the Argentine ant, an invasive species with notable presence in Mediterranean climates. Linepithema species are found from sea level and up to 4,000 meters above sea level in the Andes.[3]