Formica dakotensis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Formica dakotensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Formica
Species: F. dakotensis
Binomial name
Formica dakotensis
Emery, 1893

Formica-dakotensis-MCZ001L.jpg

Formica-dakotensis-MCZ001D.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

This ant nests in mounds, often thatched with detritus, or under stones. It enslaves F. fusca, F. lepida, F. montana, F. subsericea and F. pallidefulva. Like most species of Formica, this species tends aphids. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

At a Glance • Temporary parasite  

Identification

Workers, females (and even males) of this species are easily recognized as the node of the petiole is flat or has a slightly concave apex, as seen from the front or back. The sides of the node are nearly straight and parallel. The palpi are remarkably short. The female is smooth and shining, and smaller than the largest workers.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Canada, Alberta. United States, widely distributed.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 66.45896° to 34.01916667°.

   
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

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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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Habitat

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) - Grasslands up to ponderosa pine forests.

Biology

Temporary hosts for F. dakotensis are Formica glacialis, Formica fusca, Formica lepida, Formica montana, Formica pallidefulva, Formica subaenescens and Formica subsericea.

Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) - Our 8 records are from 7 localities, which are widely scattered north of the Hot Desert. Two are in the Coniferous Forest Biome, 1 in the ectotone above, and 1 in the Alpine Biome. Five nests were under stones and 1 was under a dead sagebrush trunk.

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Chaitophorus populicola (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Cinara apini (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Formica dakotensis casent0102158 head 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0102158 profile 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0102158 dorsal 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0102158 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0102158. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.
Formica dakotensis casent0005385 head 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0005385 profile 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0005385 dorsal 1.jpgFormica dakotensis casent0005385 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0005385. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • dakotensis. Formica dakotensis Emery, 1893i: 652, pl. 22, fig. 5 (w.) U.S.A. Wasmann, 1902a: 4 (q.m.); Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 462 (q.). Senior synonym of saturata, wasmanni (and its junior synonym specularis): Creighton, 1950a: 484; of montigena: Brown, 1957f: 167.
  • montigena. Formica montigena Wheeler, W.M. 1904f: 374 (w.q.m.) U.S.A. Subspecies of dakotensis: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 463; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, E.W. 1944: 260. Junior synonym of dakotensis: Brown, 1957f: 167.
  • wasmanni. Formica dakotensis var. wasmanni Forel, 1904a: 153 (footnote) (w.q.m.) U.S.A. Synonym of specularis: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 464 (Wheeler gives specularis as senior name but wasmanni has priority). Junior synonym of dakotensis: Creighton, 1950a: 484.
  • specularis. Formica specularis Wheeler, W.M. 1908g: 408 (q.) U.S.A. [First available use of Formica fusca subsp. subpolita var. specularis Emery, 1893i: 663; unavailable name.] Junior synonym of wasmanni: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 464 (Wheeler incorrectly gives seniority to specularis). Junior synonym of dakotensis: Creighton, 1950a: 484.
  • saturata. Formica dakotensis var. saturata Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 542 (w.) U.S.A. Junior synonym of dakotensis: Creighton, 1950a: 484.

Description

Karyotype

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  • n = 26 (Crozier, 1975).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bare O. S. 1929. A taxonomic study of Nebraska ants, or Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Thesis, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA.
  • Bestelmeyer B. T., and J. A. Wiens. 2001. Local and regional-scale responses of ant diversity to a semiarid biome transition. Ecography 24: 381-392.
  • Borchert, H.F. and N.L. Anderson. 1973. The Ants of the Bearpaw Mountains of Montana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 46(2):200-224
  • Brown W. L., Jr. 1957. Distribution and variation of the ant Formica dakotensis Emery. Entomol. News 68: 165-167.
  • Buren W. F. 1944. A list of Iowa ants. Iowa State College Journal of Science 18:277-312
  • Coovert G. A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ohio Biological Survey, Inc. 15(2): 1-207.
  • Coovert, G.A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series Volume 15(2):1-196
  • Deslippe, R.J. and R. Savolainen. 1995. Mechanisms of Competition in a Guild of Formicine Ants. Oikos 72(1):67-73
  • Francoeur, A. 1997. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Yukon. Pages 901– 910 in H.V. Danks and J.A. Downes (Eds.), Insects of the Yukon. Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), Ottawa.
  • Glasier J. R. N., S. E. Nielsen, J. Acorn, and J. Pinzon. 2019. Boreal sand hills are areas of high diversity for Boreal ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Diversity 11, 22; doi:10.3390/d11020022.
  • 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.
  • Glasier, J. Alberta Ants. AntWeb.
  • Gregg R. E. 1969. Geographic distribution of the ant genus Formica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 71: 38-49.
  • Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
  • Higgins R. J. 2010. The ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) communities of the central interior of British Columbia: adaptations to a temperature-constrained environment. ??? 1-183.
  • Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87.
  • Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
  • Kannowski P. B. 1956. The ants of Ramsey County, North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist 56(1): 168-185.
  • La Rivers I. 1968. A first listing of the ants of Nevada. Biological Society of Nevada, Occasional Papers 17: 1-12.
  • Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
  • Mackay W. P., and E. E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
  • Sharplin, J. 1966. An annotated list of the Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Central and Southern Alberta. Quaetiones Entomoligcae 2:243-253
  • Smith M. R. 1952. On the collection of ants made by Titus Ulke in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the early nineties. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 60: 55-63.
  • Talbot M. 1971. Flights of the ant Formica dakotensis Emery. Psyche 78: 169-179.
  • Talbot M. 1976. A list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Edwin S. George Reserve, Livingston County, Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 8: 245-246.
  • Wheeler G. C., J. N. Wheeler, and P. B. Kannowski. 1994. Checklist of the ants of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The Great Lakes Entomologist 26(4): 297-310
  • Wheeler G. C., and E. W. Wheeler. 1944. Ants of North Dakota. North Dakota Historical Quarterly 11:231-271.
  • Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, vii + 138 pp.
  • Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1987. A Checklist of the Ants of South Dakota. Prairie Nat. 19(3): 199-208.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1913. A revision of the ants of the genus Formica (Linné) Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 53: 379-565.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1917. The mountain ants of western North America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 52: 457-569.
  • Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1978. Mountain ants of Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist 35(4):379-396
  • Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1988. A checklist of the ants of Montana. Psyche 95:101-114
  • Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1988. A checklist of the ants of Wyoming. Insecta Mundi 2(3&4):230-239
  • Wheeler, G.C., J. Wheeler and P.B. Kannowski. 1994. CHECKLIST OF THE ANTS OF MICHIGAN (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). Great Lakes Entomologist 26:1:297-310
  • Wheeler, G.C., J. Wheeler, T.D. Galloway and G.L. Ayre. 1989. A list of the ants of Manitoba. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Manitoba 45:34-49
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