We used to name this ant "Messor andrei". In 2015, Veromessor was split off for the New World species. This ant had trouble carrying this grass, and finally gave up. Trail 15, 10:06:55 am. Of interest: "... the evolutionary history of the Myrmicinae has played out on a global stage over the last 100 Ma, with no single region being the principal generator of species diversity." Ward et al, The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Systematic Entomology 40, Issue 1, January 2015.