Carebara

Carebara is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is one of the largest myrmicine genera with more than 200 species distributed worldwide in the tropics and the Afrotropical region. Many of them are very tiny cryptic soil and leaf-litter inhabitants. They nest in rotten wood to which the bark is still adherent in the Afrotropical region, or may be lestobiotic, nesting near other ant species. Some species are known to exist parasitically within termite nests. Little is known about the biology of the genus, but they are notable for the vast difference in size between queens and workers.

==Species== ===Extant=== Carebara aberrans (Santschi, 1937) Carebara aborensis (Wheeler, 1913) Carebara acuta (Weber, 1952) Carebara acutispina (Xu, 2003) Carebara adisaki Wimolsuthikul & Jaitrong, 2024 Carebara affinis (Jerdon, 1851) Carebara afghana (Pisarski, 1970) Carebara africana (Forel, 1910) Carebara alluaudi (Santschi, 1913) Carebara alperti Fernández, 2010 Carebara alpha (Forel, 1905) Carebara altinodus (Xu, 2003) Carebara amia (Forel, 1913) Carebara ampla Santschi, 1912 Carebara angolensis (Santschi, 1914) Carebara angulata Fernández, 2004 Carebara anophthalma (Emery, 1906) Carebara arabara Fernández, 2010 Carebara arabica (Collingwood & Van Harten, 2001) Carebara armata (Donisthorpe, 1948) Carebara arnoldi (Forel, 1913) Carebara arnoldiella (Santschi, 1919) Carebara asina (Forel, 1902) Carebara atoma (Emery, 1900) Carebara audita Fernández, 2004 Carebara bara Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara bartrumi Weber, 1943 Carebara bengalensis (Forel, 1902) Carebara berivelo Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara beta (Forel, 1905) Carebara betsi Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara bicarinata Santschi, 1912 Carebara bifida Matsuura et al., 2025 Carebara bihornata (Xu, 2003) Carebara bokorensis Matsuura & Hosoishi, 2024 Carebara borealis (Terayama, 1996) Carebara bouvardi (Santschi, 1913) Carebara brasiliana Fernández, 2004 Carebara brevipilosa Fernández, 2004 Carebara bruchi (Santschi, 1933) Carebara bruni (Forel, 1913) Carebara butteli (Forel, 1913) Carebara capreola (Wheeler, 1927) Carebara carinata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara castanea Smith, 1858 Carebara ceylonensis (Forel, 1911) Carebara coeca Fernández, 2004 Carebara colobopsis Hosoishi & Yamane, 2022 Carebara concinna (Mayr, 1867) Carebara convexa (Weber, 1950) Carebara coqueta Fernández, 2006 Carebara cornigera (Forel, 1902) Carebara crassiuscula (Emery, 1900) Carebara creolei Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara cribriceps (Wheeler, 1927) Carebara crigensis (Belshaw & Bolton, 1994) Carebara curvispina (Xu, 2003) Carebara dazia Fisher, 2025 Carebara debilis (Santschi, 1913) Carebara demeter Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara dentata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara deponens (Walker, 1859) Carebara diabola (Santschi, 1913) Carebara diabolica (Baroni Urbani, 1969) Carebara distincta (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara diversa (Jerdon, 1851) Carebara donisthorpei (Weber, 1950) Carebara dota Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara eguchii Matsuura et al., 2025 Carebara elmenteitae (Patrizi, 1948) Carebara elongata Fernández, 2004 Carebara erythraea (Emery, 1915) Carebara escherichi (Forel, 1911) Carebara fayrouzae Sharaf, 2013 Carebara frontalis (Weber, 1950) Carebara globularia Fernández, 2004 Carebara grandidieri (Forel, 1891) Carebara guineana Fernández, 2006 Carebara gustavmayri Fischer et al., 2014 Carebara hainteny Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara hammoniae (Stitz, 1923) Carebara hannya (Terayama, 1996) Carebara hiragasy Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara hornata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara hostilis (Smith, 1858) Carebara hunanensis (Wu & Wang, 1995) Carebara inca Fernández, 2004 Carebara incerta (Santschi, 1919) Carebara incierta Fernández, 2004 Carebara infima (Santschi, 1913) Carebara intermedia Fernández, 2004 Carebara jacobsoni (Forel, 1911) Carebara jajoby Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara jeanneli (Santschi, 1913) Carebara jiangxiensis (Wu & Wang, 1995) Carebara junodi Forel, 1904 Carebara kabosy Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara khamiensis (Arnold, 1952) Carebara kofana Fernández, 2004 Carebara kunensis (Ettershank, 1966) Carebara lamellifrons (Forel, 1902) Carebara langi Wheeler, 1922 Carebara latinoda (Zhou & Zheng, 1997) Carebara latro (Santschi, 1937) Carebara leei (Forel, 1902) Carebara lignata Westwood, 1840 Carebara lilith Fischer et al., 2015 Carebara lithophila Yamane et al., 2025 Carebara longiceps (Santschi, 1929) Carebara longii (Wheeler, 1903) Carebara lova Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara lucida (Santschi, 1917) Carebara lusciosa (Wheeler, 1928) Carebara luzonensis Fischer et al., 2014 Carebara maccus (Wheeler, 1929) Carebara madibai Fischer & Azorsa, 2014 Carebara mahafaly Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara majeri Fernández, 2004 Carebara malagasy Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara manni (Donisthorpe, 1941) Carebara mayri (Forel, 1901) Carebara melanocephala (Donisthorpe, 1948) Carebara melasolena (Zhou & Zheng, 1997) Carebara menozzii (Ettershank, 1966) Carebara minima (Emery, 1900) Carebara minuta Fernández, 2004 Carebara mjobergi (Forel, 1915) Carebara mukkaliensis Bharti & Akbar, 2014 Carebara nana (Santschi, 1919) Carebara nanningensis (Li & Tang, 1986) Carebara nayana (Sheela & Narendran, 1997) Carebara nicotianae (Arnold, 1948) Carebara norfolkensis (Donisthorpe, 1941) Carebara nosindambo (Forel, 1891) Carebara nuda Fernández, 2004 Carebara obscura (Viehmeyer, 1914) Carebara obtusidenta (Xu, 2003) Carebara octata (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara oertzeni (Forel, 1886) Carebara omasi Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara oni (Terayama, 1996) Carebara osborni Wheeler, 1922 Carebara overbecki (Viehmeyer, 1916) Carebara paeta (Santschi, 1937) Carebara panamensis (Wheeler, 1925) Carebara panhai Jaitrong et al., 2021 Carebara parva Wimolsuthikul & Jaitrong, 2024 Carebara patrizii Menozzi, 1927 Carebara paya Fernández, 2004 Carebara periyarensis Dhadwal & Bharti, 2022 Carebara perpusilla (Emery, 1895) Carebara peruviana (Emery, 1906) Carebara petulca (Wheeler, 1922) Carebara petulens (Santschi, 1920) Carebara phragmotica Fischer et al., 2015 Carebara pilosa Fernández, 2004 Carebara pisinna (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara placida Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara polyphemus (Wheeler, 1928) Carebara propomegata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara pseudolusciosa (Wu & Wang, 1995) Carebara pullata (Santschi, 1920) Carebara pumilia Fischer et al., 2014 Carebara pygmaea (Emery, 1887) Carebara qianliyan Terayama, 2009 Carebara quratulain Akbar & Bharti, 2017 Carebara raberi Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara raja (Forel, 1902) Carebara rara (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara rectangulata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara rectidorsa (Xu, 2003) Carebara reina Fernández, 2004 Carebara reticapita (Xu, 2003) Carebara reticulata Fernández, 2004 Carebara robertsoni (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara rothneyi (Forel, 1902) Carebara rubra (Smith, 1860) Carebara rugata (Forel, 1913) Carebara rugoflabella Fischer et al., 2014 Carebara sakamotoi Terayama et al., 2012 Carebara salegi Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara sampi Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara sangi (Eguchi & Bui, 2007) Carebara santschii (Weber, 1943) Carebara sarasinorum (Emery, 1901) Carebara sarita (Bolton & Belshaw, 1993) Carebara satana (Karavaiev, 1935) Carebara sauteri (Forel, 1912) Carebara semilaevis (Mayr, 1901) Carebara sharjahensis (Mayr, 1901) Carebara sicheli Mayr, 1862 Carebara silenus (Smith, 1858) Carebara silvestrii (Santschi, 1914) Carebara similis (Mayr, 1862) Carebara sinhala Fische et al., 2014 Carebara sodalis (Emery, 1914) Carebara solitaria (Stitz, 1910) Carebara spinata Bharti & Kumar, 2013 Carebara stenoptera (Kusnezov, 1952) Carebara striata (Xu, 2003) Carebara sublatro (Forel, 1913) Carebara subreptor (Emery, 1900) Carebara sudanensis (Weber, 1943) Carebara sudanica Santschi, 1933 Carebara sundaica (Forel, 1913) Carebara tahitiensis (Wheeler, 1936) Carebara taiponica (Wheeler, 1928) Carebara tana Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara tanana Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara tenua Fernández, 2004 Carebara terayamai Bharti & Akbar, 2014 Carebara termitolestes (Wheeler, 1918) Carebara thoracica (Weber, 1950) Carebara traegaordhi (Santschi, 1914) Carebara transversalis (Smith, 1860) Carebara trechideros (Zhou & Zheng, 1997) Carebara ugandana (Santschi, 1923) Carebara urichi (Wheeler, 1922) Carebara varia (Santschi, 1920) Carebara vazimba Azorsa & Fisher, 2018 Carebara vespillo (Wheeler, 1921) Carebara vidua Smith, 1858 Carebara viehmeyeri (Mann, 1919) Carebara villiersi (Bernard, 1953) Carebara volsellata (Santschi, 1937) Carebara vorax (Santschi, 1914) Carebara weyeri (Karavaiev, 1930) Carebara wheeleri (Ettershank, 1966) Carebara wroughtonii (Forel, 1902) Carebara xynera Fisher, 2025 Carebara yamatonis (Terayama, 1996) Carebara yanoi (Forel, 1912) Carebara zengchengensis (Zhou et al., 2006)