Slave-making ant

Harpagoxenus est un genre de fourmis de la sous-famille des Myrmicinae. Description Les espèces du genre Harpagoxenus mesurent environ 4 à 5 mm pour les ouvrières. Ces fourmis ont des mandibules courtes mais larges et puissantes avec des bords masticatoires dépourvus de dents, ainsi que des antennes à onze segments mais dotées de scapes très courts.

Slave-making ants or slaver ants are brood parasites that capture broods of other ant species to increase the worker force of their colony. After emerging in the slave-maker nest, slave workers work as if they were in their own colony, while parasite workers only concentrate on replenishing the labor force from neighboring host nests, a process called slave raiding. The slave-making ants are specialized to parasitize a single species or a group of related species, and they are often close relatives to their hosts, which is typical for social parasites.

Harpagoxenus es un género de hormigas perteneciente a la familia Formicidae, categorizado en la tribu Crematogastrini. ​​​​ Fue descrito por Auguste Forel en 1893.