Melissotarsus

{{Short description|Genus of ants}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Melissotarsus beccarii casent0102042 profile 1.jpg |image_caption = ''Melissotarsus beccarii'' worker |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Melissotarsus |authority = Emery, 1877<ref name="Emery, 1877" /> |type_species = ''Melissotarsus beccarii'' |type_species_authority = Emery, 1877<ref name="Emery, 1877" /> |diversity_link = #Species |diversity = 5 species |diversity_ref = <ref name="AntCat">{{AntCat|429988|''Melissotarsus''|2015|accessdate=20 January 2015}}</ref> }}

'''''Melissotarsus''''' is a rare African genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.<ref name="AWMelissotarsus"/> They are known from the Afrotropics and Malagasy regions, where their nests are located in living wood, built by tunneling through the wood under the bark. They are rarely seen outside of their nests, which may contribute to their perceived rarity.<ref name="Garcia_et_al_2013"/> However, they are considered pest insects because of damage they can cause to trees, including economically important ones such as mangos and trees in the family Burseraceae, including ''Aucoumea klaineana'', ''Dacryodes buettneri'', and ''Dacryodes edulis''.<ref name="Mony et al. 2002"/>

''Melissotarsus'' live in association with armored scale insects, family Diaspididae.<ref name="Mony et al. 2002"/><ref name="Delabie 2001"/> A study in Cameroon estimated that a single ''Dacryodes edulis'' tree hosted about 1.5 million ''Melissotarsus beccarii'' (larvae included) and half a million ''Diaspis'' armored scale insects; the densities were about 43 and 15 thousand ''M. beccarii'' and ''Diaspis'' per square metre bark, respectively.<ref name="Mony et al. 2002"/> The ants appear to consume the secretions used to manufacture armored scales because Diaspididae are completely naked when ant-attended; the ant nest itself remains completely hidden under the bark of the tree.<ref name="Delabie 2001"/><ref name="Peeters2017"/>

==Species== ===Extant=== * ''Melissotarsus beccarii'' Emery, 1877<ref name="Emery, 1877" /> * ''Melissotarsus emeryi'' Forel, 1907<ref name="Forel, 1907" /> * ''Melissotarsus insularis'' Santschi, 1911<ref name="Santschi, 1911" /> * ''Melissotarsus weissi'' Santschi, 1910<ref name="Santschi, 1910" />

===Extinct=== *†''Melissotarsus ethiopiensis'' Coty et al., 2016

==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="AWMelissotarsus">{{cite web |url=http://www.antweb.org/description.do?name=Melissotarsus&rank=genus&project=allantwebants |title= Genus: ''Melissotarsus'' |website=antweb.org |publisher=AntWeb |access-date=23 September 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="Delabie 2001">{{cite journal |last1=Delabie|first1=J.H.C.|title=Trophobiosis between Formicidae and Hemiptera (Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha): an overview |journal=Neotropical Entomology |date=2001 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=501–516 |doi=10.1590/S1519-566X2001000400001|doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name="Emery, 1877">{{Cite journal |last=Emery |first=C. |author-link=Carlo Emery |date=1877-04-03 |title=Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte prima. Formiche provenienti dal Viaggio dei signori Antinori, Beccari e Issel nel Mar Rosso e nel paese dei Bogos. [concl.]. |journal=Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale |volume=9 |pages=369–381 |language=it}}</ref>

<ref name="Forel, 1907">{{Cite journal |last=Forel |first=A. |author-link=Auguste Forel |date=1907 |title=Fourmis d'Ethiopie récoltées par M. le baron Maurice de Rothschild en 1905 |url=https://antcat.org/documents/1430/4009.pdf |journal=Revue d'Entomologie (Caen) |volume=26 |pages=129–144 |language=fr}}</ref>

<ref name="Garcia_et_al_2013">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.2982/028.101.0201| title = The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography| journal = Journal of East African Natural History| volume = 101| issue = 2| page = 127| year = 2013| last1 = Hita Garcia | first1 = F. | last2 = Wiesel | first2 = E. | last3 = Fischer | first3 = G. | s2cid = 84797311}}</ref>

<ref name="Mony et al. 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Mony |first1=R. |last2=Kenne |first2=M. |author3=Orivel, J. |author4=Dejean, A.|year=2002 |title=Biology and ecology of pest ants of the genus ''Melissotarsus'' (Formicidae: Myrmicinae), with special reference to tropical fruit tree attacks |journal=Sociobiology |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=645–654 }}</ref>

<ref name="Peeters2017">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.7717/peerj.3599| title = A mutualism without honeydew: what benefits for ''Melissotarsus emeryi'' ants and armoured scale insects (Diaspididae)?| journal = PeerJ| volume = 5| article-number = e3599| year = 2017| last1 = Peeters | first1 = C. | last2 = Foldi | first2 = I. | last3 = Matile-Ferrero | first3 = D. | last4 = Fisher | first4 = B. | pmid = 28761787| pmc = 5530990| doi-access = free }}</ref>

<ref name="Santschi, 1910">{{Cite journal |last=Santschi |first=F. |author-link=Felix Santschi |date=1910 |title=Formicides nouveaux ou peu connus du Congo français |url=https://antcat.org/documents/2493/3699.pdf |journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de France |volume=78 |pages=349–400 |language=fr}}</ref>

<ref name="Santschi, 1911">{{Cite journal |last=Santschi |first=F. |author-link=Felix Santschi |date=1911 |title=Nouvelles fourmis de Madagascar |url=https://antcat.org/documents/2502/3708.pdf |journal=Revue suisse de Zoologie |volume=19 |pages=117–134 |doi=10.5962/bhl.part.29916 |language=fr}}</ref> }}

==External links== *{{commons category-inline|Melissotarsus|''Melissotarsus''}}

Category:Crematogastrini Category:Ant genera Category:Hymenoptera of Africa Category:Taxa named by Carlo Emery Category:Pest insects