Formica integroides

Formica integroides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Formica
Species group:	rufa
Species:	F. integroides
Binomial name
Formica integroides Wheeler, W.M., 1913
Synonyms
Formica rufa subcaviceps Creighton, 1940 Formica rufa subfasciata Creighton, 1940

Nests in open woods. Extensive use of thatch, often in the shape of a dome.

Photo Gallery

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  A male thatch mound ant (Formica integroides) climbs sagebrush to launch himself on a morning mating flight in California's Sierra Nevada. Sagehen Creek, California, USA. Photo by Alex Wild.

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Nearctic species in the Formica rufa group

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 51.193115° to 30.88333333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

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.

Biology

Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) - All our 6 records are from the Sierra, i.e., near Lake Tahoe. They represent 4 localities in the Coniferous Forest Biome. Nests were in decaying stumps covered, or surrounded by, thatch. All colonies were populous, active, and aggressive; the bite was annoying.

Nest site selected in areas of moderate to heavy cover or in open areas devoid of cover. Nest begun in or under a log or stump, or under stone or by excavation in the soil. Little or no to extensive use made of thatching. The finished nest considerably influenced by the size of the object in which it was started, ranging from without any superstructure or with a thin disc of thatching spread around the opening to a dome shaped nest (Creighton, 1940)

This ant is thought to be a host for the guest or xenobiont Formicoxenus hirticornis but this needs confirmation.

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 a mutualist for the aphid Aphis farinosa (a trophobiont) (Addicott, 1978; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis asclepiadis (a trophobiont) (Addicott, 1979a; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis salicariae (a trophobiont) (Addicott, 1979a; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis varians (a trophobiont) (Addicott, 1978; Addicott, 1979a; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Flight Period

			X
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

• Check details at Worldwide Ant Nuptial Flights Data, AntNupTracker and AntKeeping.

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

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0005387. 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.

• integroides. Formica truncicola subsp. integroides Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 438 (w.q.) U.S.A. [First available use of Formica rufa subsp. obscuriventris var. integroides Emery, 1893i: 649; unavailable name.] Subspecies of rufa: Creighton, 1940a: 3. Raised to species and senior synonym of subcaviceps: Creighton, 1950a: 489. Senior synonym of subfasciata: Brown, 1965d: 185.
• subcaviceps. Formica rufa subsp. subcaviceps Creighton, 1940a: 1, fig. 1 (w.m.) U.S.A. [First available use of Formica truncicola subsp. integra var. subcaviceps Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 540; unavailable name.] Junior synonym of integroides: Creighton, 1950a: 489.
• subfasciata. Formica rufa subsp. subfasciata Creighton, 1940a: 1, fig. 1 (w.) U.S.A. [First available use of Formica truncicola subsp. integroides var. subfasciata Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 539; unavailable name.] Subspecies of integroides: Creighton, 1950a: 490. Junior synonym of integroides: Brown, 1965d: 185.

References

• Alatorre-Bracamontes, C.E., Vásquez-Bolaños, M. 2010. Lista comentada de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del norte de México. Dugesiana 17(1): 9-36.
• Bernstein, S., Finn, C. 1971. Ant compound eye: Size-related ommatidium differences within a single wood ant nest. Experientia 27, 708–710. (doi:10.1007/bf02136977).
• 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).
• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1965d. Studies on North American ants. I. The Formica integra subgroup. Entomol. News 76: 181-186 (page 185, senior synonym of subfasciata)
• Carroll, T.M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). M.S. thesis, Purdue University.
• Creighton, W. S. 1940a. A revision of the North American variants of the ant Formica rufa. American Museum Novitates 1055: 1-10.
• Creighton, W. S. 1950a. The ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 104: 1-585 (page 489, raised to species, and senior synonym of subcaviceps)
• Emery, C. 1893k. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der nordamerikanischen Ameisenfauna. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 7: 633-682 (page 649, As Formica rufa subsp. obscuriventris var. integroides; unavailable name)
• Ramirez-Esquivel, F., Leitner, N.E., Zeil, J., Narendra, A. 2017. The sensory arrays of the ant, Temnothorax rugatulus. Arthropod Structure, Development 46, 552–563 (doi:10.1016/j.asd.2017.03.005).
• 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).
• Varela-Hernández, F., Riquelme, F. 2024. Pheidole praehistorica sp. nov., a new addition to spiny ants of the genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839 (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Oligo–Miocene Mexican amber. European Journal of Taxonomy 968: 86-97 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.968.2719).
• Wheeler, G. C. and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1913i. A revision of the ants of the genus Formica (Linné) Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 53: 379-565 (page 438, First available use of Formica rufa subsp. obscuriventris var. integroides Emery; worker, 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.
• 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.
• Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
• Johnson, R.A. and P.S. Ward. 2002. Biogeography and endemism of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Baja California, Mexico: a first overview. Journal of Biogeography 29:1009–1026/
• Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
• Mallis A. 1941. A list of the ants of California with notes on their habits and distribution. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 40: 61-100. 
• Miller C. D. F. 1957. Taxonomic status of Formica subnitens Creighton and F. integroides Emery, with a description of the sexuals of F. subnitens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Soc. 4: 253-257.
• MontBlanc E. M., J. C. Chambers, and P. F. Brussard. 2007. Variation in ant populations with elevation, tree cover, and fire in a Pinyon-Juniper-dominated watershed. Western North American Naturalist 67(4): 469–491.
• Rees D. M., and A. W. Grundmann. 1940. A preliminary list of the ants of Utah. Bulletin of the University of Utah, 31(5): 1-12.
• Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
• Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, vii + 138 pp.
• 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