Formica rubicunda

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Formica rubicunda
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Formica
Species: F. rubicunda
Binomial name
Formica rubicunda
Emery, 1893

Formica-rubicunda-MCZ002L.jpg

Formica-rubicunda-MCZ002D.jpg

Specimen Label

This species nests under stones and logs and may occasionally construct thatched nests or earthen mounds. Formica rubicunda enslaves Formica altipetens, Formica bradleyi, Formica fossaceps, Formica fusca, Formica lasioides, Formica lepida, Formica montana, Formica neoclara, Formica neogagates, Formica neorufibarbis, Formica obscuriventris, Formica pallidefulva and Formica subsericea. One mixed nest included Formica argentea, Formica aserva, Formica obtusopilosa Formica lasioides and a Myrmica species.


At a Glance • Dulotic  

 

Photo Gallery

  • Foraging worker from Ashburnham, Massachusetts. Photo by Tom Murray.
  • Formica rubicunda and host Formica subsericea, eastern Missouri oak woodland. Photo by James Trager.

Identification

The apex of the petiole, as seen in profile, is sharp. The dorsum of the first tergum of the gaster has abundant hairs, slightly over 0.1 mm in length. The hairs are coarse and thick, but most are abruptly tapered to sharp tips. These hairs are slightly longer and more abundant than those on the pronotum, which tend to be more blunt tipped. The underside of the head usually has four hairs. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Widespread in North America.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 48.63° to 24.83444444°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Habitat

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) - Prairies and open woodlands up to pinyon-juniper and ponderosa pine and aspen forests.

Biology

This species is a member of a group of Formica species that were formerly placed in the subgenus Raptiformica. All species are facultative slavemakers, i.e., species which usually or often have slaves but can get along without them. The colony-founding female forces her way into a small colony of another species of Formica, somehow gets rid of its queen and workers and appropriates its nest and brood. The workers emerging from this brood accept the intruding queen as their own. The enslaved species belong to the Formica neogagates, fusca, and pallidefulva species groups. When the workers of the slave-making species have become numerous enough, they start raiding for more slaves.

Formica rubicunda is known to enslave the following species:

Association with Other Organisms

  • This species is a host for the braconid wasp Elasmosoma petulans (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Flight Period

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

Source: antkeeping.info.

Castes

Worker

  • The following images are provided by AntWeb

  • Head view

  • Side view

  • Top view

  • Specimen labels

  • The following images are provided by AntWeb

  • Head view

  • Side view

  • Top view

  • Specimen labels

Nomenclature

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

  • rubicunda. Formica sanguinea subsp. rubicunda Emery, 1893i: 647, pl. 22, fig. 2 (w.q.) U.S.A. Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 407 (m.). Combination in F. (Raptiformica): Emery, 1925b: 260. Raised to species: Creighton, 1950a: 468. Junior synonym of subintegra: Wilson & Brown, 1955: 120. Revived from synonymy: Buren, 1968a: 30.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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  • Buren W. F. 1941. A preliminary list of Iowa ants. Iowa State College Journal of Science 15: 111-117
  • Buren W. F. 1944. A list of Iowa ants. Iowa State College Journal of Science 18:277-312
  • Campbell K. U., and T. O. Crist. 2017. Ant species assembly in constructed grasslands isstructured at patch and landscape levels. Insect Conservation and Diversity doi: 10.1111/icad.12215
  • Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's Thesis Purdue university, 385 pages.
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  • Clark Adam. Personal communication on November 25th 2013.
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  • Forster J.A. 2005. The Ants (hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Alabama. Master of Science, Auburn University. 242 pages.
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  • King R. L. and R. M. Sallee. 1964. Notes on Iowa ants. Iowa Academy of Science. 71: 484-485
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  • Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
  • Lubertazi, D. Personal Communication. Specimen Data from Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard
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  • MacGown, J.A. and JV.G. Hill. Ants of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina).
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  • Mackay, W.P. and E. Mackay. XXXX. The Ants of New Mexico
  • Martelli, M.G., M.M. Ward and Ann M. Fraser. 2004. Ant Diversity Sampling on the Southern Cumberland Plateau: A Comparison of Litter Sifting and Pitfall Trapping. Southeastern Naturalist 3(1): 113-126
  • Menke S. B., E. Gaulke, A. Hamel, and N. Vachter. 2015. The effects of restoration age and prescribed burns on grassland ant community structure. Environmental Entomology http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv110
  • Menke S. B., and N. Vachter. 2014. A comparison of the effectiveness of pitfall traps and winkler litter samples for characterization of terrestrial ant (Formicidae) communities in temperate savannas. The Great Lakes Entomologist 47(3-4): 149-165.
  • Michigan State University, The Albert J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection. Accessed on January 7th 2014 at http://www.arc.ent.msu.edu:8080/collection/index.jsp
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  • Wheeler W. M. 1900. The habits of Ponera and Stigmatomma. Biological Bulletin (Woods Hole). 2: 43-69.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1906. Fauna of New England. 7. List of the Formicidae. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History 7: 1-24
  • Wheeler W. M. 1906. Fauna of New England. 7. List of the Formicidae. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History 7: 1-24.
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