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Distribution:

  Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists):
    Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europa Island, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grande Glorieuse, Guinea, Ile du Lys, Ivory Coast, Juan de Nova Island, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macaronesia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mayotte, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tromelin Island, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
    Americas: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Galapagos Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, United States Virgin Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela
    Antarctica_region: Kerguelen Islands
    Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Borneo, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Christmas Island, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
    Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom
    Oceania: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Hawaii, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna
  Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists):
    Afrotropical, Antarctica, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, Nearctic, Neotropical, Oceania, Palearctic

Identification:

Formicine ants have a single node-like or scale-like petiole (postpetiole entirely lacking) and the apex of the abdomen has a circular or U-shaped opening, usually fringed with hairs (acidopore). A functional sting is absent, and defense is provided by the ejection of formic acid through the acidopore. If the acidopore is concealed by the pygidium and difficult to discern, then the antennal sockets are located well behind the posterior margin of the clypeus (cf. Dolichoderinae). In most formicines the eyes are well developed (ocelli may also be present), the antennal insertions are not concealed by the frontal carinae, and the promesonotal suture is present and flexible.

Notes:

This is a cosmopolitan group, with about 100 species in California. These include mound-building Formica ants; carpenter ants in the genus Camponotus; and honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus).

References:

Agosti (1991); Bolton (1994); Grimaldi & Agosti (2000); Shattuck (1992b).

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

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