Belongs within: Myrmicinae.
Myrmica is a genus of generalist ants found in Eurasia and North America. The mesosoma retains a moderately distinct mesoepinotal suture and is armed with spines or teeth on the epinotum (Wheeler & Wheeler 1990). Notable species include the European fire ant Myrmica rubra, which is native to Europe but has also become widely introduced in northern North America.
Characters (Wheeler & Wheeler 1990): Antenna with twelve segments. Lateral portion of clypeus not raised; antennal fossa opening onto clypeus without elevated boundary; psammophore absent. Epinotum armed with spines or teeth; promesonotal suture absent on mesosomal dorsum; mesoepinotal suture moderately impressed. Middle and hind tibial spurs finely pectinate. Postpetiole attached to anterior end of first gastric somite, gaster about equally convex above and below.
<==Myrmica Latreille 1804 (see below for synonymy)Z01
|--*M. rubra (Linnaeus 1758)Z01 [=Formica rubraZ01, Atta (Myrmica) rubraG20]
|--M. algirica Lucas 1848E12
|--M. breviceps Smith 1878 (n. d.)B03
|--M. caeca Jerdon 1851 (n. d.)B03
|--M. colaxWW90
|--M. consternens Walker 1859 (n. d.)B03
|--M. cursor Smith 1878 (n. d.)B03
|--M. gallieniiAV04
|--M. humilis Smith 1858 (n. d.)B03
|--M. inezae Forel 1902B03
|--M. kurokiiAV04
| |--M. k. kurokiiAV04
| `--M. k. tipunaAV04
|--M. laevinodisMS01
|--M. lobicornisAV04
|--M. luctuosa Smith 1878 (n. d.)B03
|--M. margaritae Emery 1889B03
|--M. mexicanaWW90
|--M. microrubra Seifert 1993S09
|--M. obscurata Motschulsky 1863 (n. d.)B03
|--M. pallinodis Motschulsky 1863 (n. d.)B03
|--M. ritae Emery 1889B03
|--M. rugifrons Smith 1858 (n. d.)B03
|--M. ruginodisAV04
|--M. rugiventrisWW90
|--M. rugosa Mayr 1865B03
| |--M. r. rugosaAV04
| `--M. r. arisanaAV04
|--M. sabuletiES12
|--M. scabrinodisES12
|--M. schenckiAV04
|--M. slovacaES12
|--M. smythiesi Forel 1902 (see below for synonymy)B03
|--M. specioidesES12
|--M. spinosiorES12
|--M. striolagasterBS06
|--M. sulcinodisAV04
|--M. tahoensisBS06
|--M. testaceopilosa Lucas 1848E12
`--M. vandeliES12
Myrmica Latreille 1804 [incl. Dodecamyrmica Arnold 1968, Paramyrmica Cole 1957, Sifolinia Emery 1907, Sommimyrma Menozzi 1925, Symbiomyrma Arnoldi 130]Z01
Myrmica smythiesi Forel 1902 [incl. M. smythiesi var. carbonaria non M. (Monomorium) carbonaria Smith 1858, M. smythiesi var. rupestris]B03
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AV04] Als, T. D., R. Vila, N. P. Kandul, D. R. Nash, S.-H. Yen, Y.-F. Hsu, A. A. Mignault, J. J. Boomsma & N. E. Pierce. 2004. The evolution of alternative parasitic life histories in large blue butterflies. Nature 432: 386–390.
[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.
[BS06] Brady, S. G., T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher & P. S. Ward. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103 (48): 18172–18177.
[ES12] Espadaler, X., & S. Santamaria. 2012. Ecto- and endoparasitic fungi on ants from the Holarctic region. Psyche 2012: 168478.
[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.
[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.
[MS01] Mocsáry, A., & V. Szépligeti. 1901. Hymenopterák [Hymenopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 121–169. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.
[S09] Seifert, B. 2009. Cryptic species in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) revisited: we need a change in the alpha-taxonomic approach. Myrmecological News 12: 149–166.
[WW90] Wheeler, G. C., & J. Wheeler. 1990. Insecta: Hymenoptera Formicidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1277–1294. John Wiley & Sones: New York.
[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).