Liometopum Explained

Liometopum is a genus of ants that belongs to the subfamily Dolichoderinae, found in North America, Europe and Asia.

Caterpillars of certain butterfly species have a symbiotic relationship with Liometopum ants. They produce secretions that the ants will feed on, similar to the behavior of the ant genus Iridomyrmex.

Species

• Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870
• †Liometopum bogdassarovi (Nazaraw, Bagdasaraw & Uriew, 1994)
• †Liometopum brunascens (Heer, 1867)
• †Liometopum crassinervis Heer, 1849
• †Liometopum croaticum (Heer, 1849)
• †Liometopum eremicum Zhang, 1989
• †Liometopum escheri (Heer, 1867)
• †Liometopum globosum (Heer, 1849)
• †Liometopum imhoffii (Heer, 1849)
• †Liometopum incognitum Dlussky, Rasnitsyn, & Perfilieva, 2015^[1]
• Liometopum lindgreeni Forel, 1902
• †Liometopum longaevum (Heer, 1849)
• †Liometopum lubricum Zhang, Sun & Zhang, 1994
• Liometopum luctuosum Wheeler, 1905 – the pine tree ant
• Liometopum masonium (Buckley, 1866)
• Liometopum microcephalum (Panzer, 1798)
• †Liometopum miocenicum Carpenter, 1930
• Liometopum occidentale Emery, 1895 – the velvety tree ant
• †Liometopum oligocenicum Wheeler, 1915
• Liometopum orientale Karavaiev, 1927
• †Liometopum pallidum (Heer, 1867)
• †Liometopum potamophilum Zhang, 1989
• †Liometopum rhenana (Meunier, 1917)
• †Liometopum scudderi Carpenter, 1930
• Liometopum sinense Wheeler, 1921
• †Liometopum stygium (Heer, 1867)
• †Liometopum venerarium (Heer, 1864)
• †Liometopum ventrosum (Heer, 1849)

See also

• Escamoles, a Mexican dish made from Liometopum larvae and pupae

Notes and References

1. Dlussky . G.M. . Rasnitsyn . A.P. . Perfilieva . K.S. . 2015 . The Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Bol'shaya Svetlovodnaya (Late Eocene of Sikhote-Alin, Russian Far East) . Caucasian Entomological Bulletin . 11 . 1 . 131–152 . 10.23885/1814-3326-2015-11-1-131-152 . free .