POLYRHACHIS

Known for their intricately curved spines, Polyrhachis is easily one of the most beautiful ant genus. This many spined ant is a tropical species known by more than 600 species and subspecies. Ants of this group are monomorphic and are usually solitary foragers but cooperate in carrying food to the nest. They are usually arboreal, while a few species construct carton nests at the base of trees and shrubs. Some species also establish nests in soil under logs and rocks. They are locally abundant and distributed across the Old World tropics. The world’s only intertidal ant, P. sokolova, is known from this group.