Solenopsis fugax
Encyclopedia
Solenopsis fugax is a myrmicine
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants. There are about 140 genera within the group, with the family being cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes...

 ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

 of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Solenopsis.

It is the only member of its genus to be native to the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

, and although rare, it has been taken by Horace Donisthorpe
Horace Donisthorpe
Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe was an eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, memorable in part for his enthusiastic championing of the renaming of the genus Lasius after him as Donisthorpea, and for his many claims of discovering new species of beetles and ants.He is often considered...

 in a number of localities on England's Southern coast, including Sandown
Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort town and civil parish on the southeast coast of the Isle of Wight, England, neighbouring the town of Shanklin to the south. Sandown Bay is the name of the bay off the English Channel which both towns share, and it is notable for its long stretch of easily accessible...

 and Shanklin
Shanklin
Shanklin is a popular seaside resort and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine, are its main attractions. The esplanade along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the...

 on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

, and also in the south westerly region of Lyme Regis.
The species is a thief ant and usually has its nest near another species, stealing food by entering the foreign colony through minute tunnels dug from their own nest. This genus is reviewed. There are maybe a lot of species under the generic name of Solenopsis fugax.
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