Western Mediterranean records include the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar, southern France and Italy.
Fine-art photographic collection
Aphaenogaster dulcineae
An ant colony infiltrated by a silverfish that lives permanently among its hosts.
About this species
Aphaenogaster dulcineaeEmery, 1924
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Aphaenogaster dulcineae is a western Mediterranean ant with a remarkable obligate guest: the silverfish Proatelurina pseudolepisma. The insect lives inside ant nests and survives by matching the colony's chemical and behavioural world.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Aphaenogaster
Accepted spelling is Aphaenogaster dulcineae; the gallery title used “dulcinea”. · checked 2026-07-15
Western MediterraneanBroad documented range and selected occurrence localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Terrestrial habitats within the documented range; nest site varies by species.
Workers forage according to temperature and local conditions.
Ant workers commonly take small arthropods and sugary liquids; species-specific diet was not added without a source.
Social colony with reproductive queens and worker ants.
What makes this species remarkable?
Its nests host an obligate myrmecophilous silverfish that has abandoned free living and depends on residence inside the ant colony.
The silverfish survives among armed workers by acquiring or mimicking colony odours, reducing the chemical mismatch that would normally trigger attack.
The guest moves rapidly through nest traffic and exploits food within the colony, effectively turning an ant society into its permanent habitat.
More photographs
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