Plectroctena

{{Short description|Genus of ants}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Plectroctena sp ants.jpg

| image_caption = Two workers in Tanzania

| display_parents = 2

| taxon = Plectroctena

| authority = F.Smith, 1858

| type_species = Plectroctena mandibularis

| type_species_authority = F.Smith, 1858

| diversity_link = #Species

| diversity = 17 species

| diversity_ref = {{AntCat|430123|Plectroctena|2014|accessdate=4 July 2014}}

| synonyms = Cacopone Santschi, 1914

}}

image:Plectroctena mandibularis, werker, Tweeling, c.jpg

Plectroctena is an Afrotropical genus of ants, with most species occurring in the rainforest zones of West and Central Africa.{{cite journal | last1=Bolton | first1=B. | last2=Gotwald | first2=W. H. | last3=Leroux | first3=J-M | title=A new West African ant of the genus Plectroctena with ecological notes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) | journal=Annales de l'Université d'Abidjan, Série E (Écologie) | year=1976 | url=http://gap.entclub.org/taxonomists/Bolton/Plectroctena.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912145439/http://gap.entclub.org/taxonomists/Bolton/Plectroctena.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=12 September 2011 | access-date=5 September 2013 }} Some species are cryptic or subterranean foragers, while others forage in open grassland terrain. The workers forage singly{{cite journal|last=Arnold |first=G. |title=A monograph of the Formicidae in South Africa. Part I. |journal=Annals of the South African Museum |year=1915 |volume=14 |pages=1–159}} or in groups of 2 to 3.{{cite journal|last=Bolton |first=B. |title=A revision of the Ponerine ant genus Plectroctena F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) |journal=Bulletin of the British Museum |year=1974 |volume=30 |pages=309–338}} They nest in the earth at varying depths, or in collapsed logs. They prey mainly on millipedes, including their young or eggs.