Formica oreas

Formica oreas
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Formica
Species group:	rufa
Species:	F. oreas
Binomial name
Formica oreas Wheeler, W.M., 1903 Specimen labels
Synonyms
Formica oreas comptula Wheeler, W.M., 1913

This ant nests under stones or logs, usually covered with detritus or thatching, in areas of fine sand to rocky loam. Occasionally this species constructs mounds solely of thatching. Brood was found in nests in March and August, reproductives occurred in nests June to August. Workers are very aggressive when the nest is disturbed.

Identification

The scape is more or less evenly covered with erect hairs, whereas other species have erect hairs only at the tip, with possibly a few others scattered on the scape. It can be separated from others with many erect hairs on the scapes as it has short dense hairs covering the gaster and the gaster is brownish black instead of black. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Keys including this Species

• Key to Nearctic species in the Formica rufa group

Distribution

Canada, Alberta. United States: Montana, Idaho and south to New Mexico.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 53.991° to 32.92563°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

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

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) - Open woods or meadows up to pine and aspen forests.

Biology

In North Dakota, Sather (1972) found that most colonies formed an integrated cluster of nests, i.e., were polycalic. Workers visited freely between nests and often transferred brood.

Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) - Our 16 records represent 12 localities and are widely scattered north of the Hot Desert; 6,200-9,000 ft. Five records were from the Cool Desert and 4 were from the Coniferous Forest Biome. Extensive use was made of thatch in the nest but more eccentrically (both literally and figuratively) than by either Formica obscuripes or Formica obscuriventris. We have described 5 nests as "typical thatch," i.e., either circular or elliptical domes. Two of the nests were polycalic (i.e., had small accessory thatch mounds in the vicinity). One typical dome had decaying wood buried in the thatch. Three nests were under stones, with a small amount of thatch on or beside the stone. One colony had its thatch scattered along a prostrate living trunk of sagebrush. The workers of one colony of F. oreas were tending Obtusicauda artemisicola (Williams) (Homoptera: Aphididae; del. D. Hille Ris Lambers) on sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) 8 mi. NW Jarbidge (Elko Co.) 6,200 ft. Workers were also tending Obtusicauda nara sp. (Homoptera: Aphididae) on lodgepole pine (Pinus murrayana) in Little Valley (Washoe Co.) 6,400 ft.

Association with Other Organisms

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• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Orasema coloradensis (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (associate).
• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Orasema coloradensis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode independent; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Orasema sp. nr coloradensis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode independent; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Castes

Worker

Worker. .	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Syntype of Formica oreas. Worker. .	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Syntype of Formica oreas comptula. Worker. .	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Nomenclature

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

• oreas. Formica oreas Wheeler, W.M. 1903e: 643, fig. 2 (w.q.m.) U.S.A.
  • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 458 (redescription); Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 541; Cole, 1942: 379; Creighton, 1950a: 494; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 867; Cole, 1954c: 165; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1461; Allred, 1982: 473; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 84; Bolton, 1995b: 200; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 362.
  • Senior synonym of comptula: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 17.
• comptula. Formica oreas var. comptula Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 460 (w.q.) U.S.A.
  • Subspecies of oreas: Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 541; Cole, 1942: 380; Creighton, 1950a: 494; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 867; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1461; Bolton, 1995b: 193; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 363.
  • Junior synonym of oreas: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 17.

Type Material

• Formica oreas: Syntype, 4 workers, 4 queens, 1 male, Woodland Park, Colorado, 8500ft., United States, 38°59′0″N 105°03′0″W, 26 July 1903, W.M. Wheeler, Museum of Comparative Zoology; (male not present in MCZC).
• Formica oreas: Syntype, 6 workers, Manitou Springs (as Manitou), Colorado, United States, 38°52′0″N 104°55′0″W, 7 August 1903, W.M. Wheeler, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
• Formica oreas comptula: Syntype, 10 workers, 2 queens, Pullman, Washington, United States, 46°44′0″N 117°11′0″W, W.M. Mann, Museum of Comparative Zoology.

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).
• Mackay, W. P. and E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY.
• Shattuck, S.O., Cover, S. 2016. Taxonomy of some little-understood North American ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 4175: 10–22 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4175.1.2).
• 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).
• Wheeler, G. C. and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1903g. Extraordinary females in three species of Formica, with remarks on mutation in the Formicidae. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 19: 639-651. (page 643, fig. 2 worker, queen, male described)
• 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 458, see also)

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.
• Cole A. C., Jr. 1942. The ants of Utah. American Midland Naturalist 28: 358-388.
• Cole, A.C. 1936. An annotated list of the ants of Idaho (Hymenoptera; Formicidae). Canadian Entomologist 68(2):34-39
• 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.
• Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
• Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
• Lavigne R., and T. J. Tepedino. 1976. Checklist of the insects in Wyoming. I. Hymenoptera. Agric. Exp. Sta., Univ. Wyoming Res. J. 106: 24-26.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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, 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, 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