Leptothorax wilsoni

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Leptothorax wilsoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Leptothorax
Species: L. wilsoni
Binomial name
Leptothorax wilsoni
Heinze, 1989

Leptothorax wilsoni casent0070307 profile 1.jpg

Leptothorax wilsoni casent0070307 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

This species is an inquiline in the nests of at least two Leptothorax species (Heinze et al., 1997). Queens live in the nest of a different ant species, have no workers and are entirely dependent on their hosts for food. The queens produce eggs that are cared for and raised to maturity by the host workers.

At a Glance • Workerless Inquiline  

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 52.873° to 45.96°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada, United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Queen

Leptothorax-wilsoni-MCZ001H.jpgLeptothorax-wilsoni-MCZ001L.jpgLeptothorax-wilsoni-MCZ001D.jpgLeptothorax-wilsoni-MCZ001Label.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Leptothorax wilsoni casent0070308 head 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070308 profile 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070308 dorsal 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070308 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0070308. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Leptothorax wilsoni casent0104848 head 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0104848 profile 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0104848 dorsal 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0104848 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104848. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Leptothorax wilsoni casent0070309 head 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070309 profile 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070309 profile 2.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070309 dorsal 1.jpgLeptothorax wilsoni casent0070309 label 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0070309. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • wilsoni. Leptothorax wilsoni Heinze, 1989: 50, figs. 1-5 (q.m.) U.S.A.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Buschinger, A. and A. Schulz. 2008. Leptothorax athabasca sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Alberta, Canada and ant with an apparently restricted range. Myrmecological News 11:243-248
  • Buschinger, A. and R.D. Schumann. 1994. New records of Leptothorax wilsoni from western North America. Psyche 101: 13-18
  • Heinze, J. 1995. The Origin of Workerless Parasites in Leptothorax (S. Str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102 (3-4) :195-214