Formica canadensis

Formica canadensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Formica
Species:	F. canadensis
Binomial name
	Formica canadensis; Santschi, 1914 Specimen labels

Nests are found in the soil, usually with the nest entrance surrounded by mound of soil.

Identification

Short, bristly hairs covering most of the surfaces of the body. The sides of the head and cheeks usually have several erect hairs. The scape is without erect hairs (except at the apex) and the legs have few erect hairs. The tibiae have erect hairs only on the flexor surface. The metasternal process is well developed and covered with hairs. This species is shiner than most of the other members of the fusca group, and is usually medium brown with a black gaster. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Western North America.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 50.72° to 33.126°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Habitat

For New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002), forested areas (ponderosa pine, Gamble oak) and surrounding open prairies, as well as areas of clover and milkweed.

Biology

This species is a host for the ant Polyergus breviceps (a dulotic parasite) (Trager, 2013; de la Mora et al., 2021).

Association with Other Organisms

Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

This species is associated with the aphids Aphis asclepiadis, Aphis lugentis, Aphis medicaginis, Aphis pomi, Aphis valerianae, Chaitophorus populifolii, Cinara pseudotsugae, Drepanaphis acerifoliae, Drepanosiphum braggii, Tuberolachnus salignus and Uroleucon ambrosiae (Saddiqui et al., 2019 and included references).

Castes

Nomenclature

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

canadensis. Formica cinerea var. canadensis Santschi, 1914a: 435 (w.q.) CANADA. Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 550 (q.); Francoeur, 1973: 63 (m.). Combination in F. (Serviformica): Emery, 1925b: 246. Junior synonym of lepida: Smith, M.R. 1961a: 252. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Francoeur, 1973: 60.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Francoeur 1973. Figures 57-72.

References

Borowiec, M.L., Cover, S.P., Rabeling, C. 2021. The evolution of social parasitism in Formica ants revealed by a global phylogeny. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2026029118 (doi:10.1073/pnas.2026029118).
de la Mora, A., Sankovitz, M., Purcell, J. 2020. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as host and intruder: recent advances and future directions in the study of exploitative strategies. Myrmecological News 30: 53-71 (doi:10.25849/MYRMECOL.NEWS_030:053).
Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 246, Combination in F. (Serviformica))
Francoeur, A. 1973. Révision taxonomique des espèces néarctiques du groupe fusca, genre Formica (Formicidae, Hymenoptera). Mém. Soc. Entomol. Qué. 3: 1-316 (page 63, male described; page 60, revived from synonymy, and raised to species)
Mackay, W. P. and E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY.
Santschi, F. 1914a [1913]. Mélanges myrmecologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 57: 429-437 (page 435, worker, queen described)
Siddiqui, J. A., Li, J., Zou, X., Bodlah, I., Huang, X. 2019. Meta-analysis of the global diversity and spatial patterns of aphid-ant mutualistic relationships. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 17: 5471-5524 (doi:10.15666/aeer/1703_54715524).
Smith, M. R. 1961a [1960]. Notes on the synonymy of a North American ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 62: 251-252 (page 252, Junior synonym of lepida)
Wheeler, W. M. 1917a. The mountain ants of western North America. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 52: 457-569 (page 550, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Allred D. M. 1982. Ants of Utah. The Great Basin Naturalist 42: 415-511.
Allred, D.M. 1982. The ants of Utah. Great Basin Naturalist 42:415-511.
Cole, A.C. 1936. An annotated list of the ants of Idaho (Hymenoptera; Formicidae). Canadian Entomologist 68(2):34-39
Francoeur. A. 1973. Revision taxonomique des especes nearctiques du group fusca, genre Formica. Memoires de la Societe Entomologique du Quebec 3: 1-316.
Glasier J. R. N., S. Nielsen, J. H. Acorn, L. H. Borysenko, and T. Radtke. 2016. A checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Saskatchewan. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 130(1): 40-48.
Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
Knowlton G. F. 1970. Ants of Curlew Valley. Proceedings of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 47(1): 208-212.
Mackay W. P., and E. E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
Wali M. K., and P. B. Kannowski. 1975. Prairie ant mound ecology: interrelationships of microclimate, soils and vegetation. In: Prairie: a multiple view, ed. M. K. Wali, pp 155-169. Grand Forks: University of North Dakota Press.
Ward P. S. 2005. A synoptic review of the ants of California (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 936: 1-68.