Formica subaenescens

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

Formica subaenescens casent0102156 profile 1.jpg

Formica subaenescens casent0102156 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) this ant nests in soil or under stones and in logs (primarily very rotten and soft). They occasionally have an earthen mound. Brood was found in nests from May to August, reproductives were found in nests from July to September, dealate females were found in August and September. This species nests together with Myrmica lobifrons and with Monomorium minimum and Monomorium cyaneum.

At a Glance • Polygynous  

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 67.61422° to 31.414168°.

   
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

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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.
pChart

Habitat

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) - Widely distributed in mesic habitats, including forests and open areas, ponderosa pine-riparian, pinyon juniper, aspen forests, Douglas fir forests, absent only in semiarid and arid habitats and above timberline.

Biology

Flight Period

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

Source: antkeeping.info.

Association with Other Organisms

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

Host for the slave-making ants:

Host for the temporary parasites:

This species is a xenobiont for the ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus (a xenobiont) in United States (Gaige ,1914; Kanizsai et al., 2013) (Hardwood forest. Under log.).

This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Formica fusca casent0102795 head 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0102795 profile 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0102795 dorsal 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0102795 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0102795. Photographer Jen Fogarty, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Formica fusca casent0005364 head 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0005364 profile 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0005364 dorsal 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0005364 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0005364. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.
Formica fusca casent0172898 head 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0172898 profile 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0172898 profile 2.jpgFormica fusca casent0172898 dorsal 1.jpgFormica fusca casent0172898 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0172898. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • subaenescens. Formica fusca var. subaenescens Emery, 1893i: 659 (w.) U.S.A.
    • [Misspelled as subaeneus by Menozzi, 1932b: 312.]
    • Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 504 (q.m.).
    • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 504; Emery, 1925b: 248; Menozzi, 1932b: 312.
    • Subspecies of fusca: Wheeler, W.M. 1900c: 47; Forel, 1902i: 699; Forel, 1904a: 153; Wheeler, W.M. 1905f: 401; Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 20; Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 570; Santschi, 1911d: 7; Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 399 (in key); Wheeler, W.M. 1916m: 599; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 546; Cole, 1936a: 37; Dennis, 1938: 300; Wing, 1939: 165; Cole, 1942: 382; Buren, 1944a: 300; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, E.W. 1944: 261; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 865.
    • Junior synonym of fusca: Creighton, 1950a: 532; Francoeur, 1973: 189; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 16.
    • Status as species: Francoeur, 1977b: 208; Bolton, 1995b: 204; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 371; Ellison, et al. 2012: 173; Schar et al., 2018: 6.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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