Formica ulkei

Formica ulkei
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Formica
Species:	F. ulkei
Binomial name
Formica ulkei Emery, 1893 Specimen Label
Synonyms
Formica ulkei hebescens Wheeler, W.M., 1913

At a Glance

• Polygynous  • Temporary parasite

Photo Gallery

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  Worker foraging on vegetation.
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  Worker foraging on ground.
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  Worker foraging on flower.
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  Mound, 5km N Roque Bluffs State Park, Maine.

Identification

A member of the Formica exsecta group.

Keys including this Species

• Key to New England Formica

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 56.461° to 40.278°.

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.

Biology

Flight Period

						X	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.

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 temporary parasite for the ant Formica subaenescens (a host).
• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0102160. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Nomenclature

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

• ulkei. Formica ulkei Emery, 1893i: 653, pl. 22, fig. 7 (w.) U.S.A. Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 486 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953c: 168 (l.); Hung, 1969: 456 (k.). Senior synonym of hebescens: Creighton, 1950a: 515. See also: Smith, D.R. 1979: 1456.
• hebescens. Formica ulkei var. hebescens Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 487 (w.) U.S.A. Junior synonym of ulkei: Creighton, 1950a: 515.

Description

Karyotype

• n = 26 (USA) (Hung, 1969).

References

• Anderson, P.S.L., Rivera, M.D., Suarez, A.V. 2020. “Simple” Biomechanical Model for Ants Reveals How Correlated Evolution among Body Segments Minimizes Variation in Center of Mass as Heads Get Larger. Integrative and Comparative Biology. (doi:10.1093/ICB/ICAA027).
• Baer, B. 2011. The copulation biology of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 14: 55-68.
• Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 205, catalogue)
• 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).
• Carroll, T.M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). M.S. thesis, Purdue University.
• Creighton, W. S. 1950a. The ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 104: 1-585 (page 515, senior synonym of hebescens)
• Dreyer, W.A., Park, T. 1932. Local distribution of Formica ulkei mound-nests with reference to certain ecological factors. Psyche 39, 127-133 (doi:10.1155/1932/28491).
• Duff, L.B., Urichuk, T.M., Hodgins, L.N., Young, J.R., Untereiner, W.A. 2016. Diversity of fungi from the mound nests of Formica ulkei and adjacent non-nest soils. Canadian Journal of Microbiology 62, 562-71 (doi:10.1139/cjm-2015-0628).
• Emery, C. 1893k. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der nordamerikanischen Ameisenfauna. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 7: 633-682 (page 653, pl. 22, fig. 7 worker described)
• Fairweather, A.D., Lewis, J.H., Hunt, L., Smith, M.A., McAlpine, D.F. 2020. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Rockwood Park, New Brunswick: An assessment of species richness and habitat. Northwestern Naturalist 27(3):576–584.
• Holmquist, A.M. 1928. Notes on the life history and habits of the mound‐building ant, Formica ulkei Emery. Ecology, 9: 70-87 (doi:10.2307/1929544).
• Holmquist, A.M. 1928. Studies in arthropod hibernation. II. The hibernation of the ant, Formica ulkei Emery. Physiological Zoology 1, 325-357 (doi:10.1086/physzool.1.3.30151051).
• Hung, A. C. F. 1969. The chromosome numbers of six species of formicine ants. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 62: 455-456 (page 455, karyotype described)
• Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87 (doi:10.3897@jhr.70.35207).
• Matte, A., Billen, J. 2012. Flight muscle histolysis in Lasius niger queens. Asian myrmecology 13, e013003 (doi:10.20362/am.013003).
• Rericha, L. 2007. Ants of Indiana. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 51pp.
• 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).
• Smith, D. R. 1979. Superfamily Formicoidea. Pp. 1323-1467 in: Krombein, K. V., Hurd, P. D., Smith, D. R., Burks, B. D. (eds.) Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Volume 2. Apocrita (Aculeata). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Pr (page 1456, see also)
• West, M., Purcell, J. 2020. Task partitioning in ants lacking discrete morphological worker subcastes. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 74 (doi:10.1007/S00265-020-02845-W).
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1953c. The ant larvae of the subfamily Formicinae. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 46: 126-171 (page 168, larva 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 486, queen, male described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Amstutz M. E. 1943. The ants of the Kildeer plain area of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). The Ohio Journal of Science 43(4): 165-173.
• Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's Thesis Purdue university, 385 pages.
• Choate B., and F. A. Drummond. 2012. Ant Diversity and Distribution (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Throughout Maine Lowbush Blueberry Fields in Hancock and Washington Counties. Environ. Entomol. 41(2): 222-232.
• Choate B., and F. A. Drummond. 2013. The influence of insecticides and vegetation in structuring Formica Mound ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Maine lowbush blueberry. Environ. Entomol. 41(2): 222-232.
• 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
• Del Toro, I. 2010. PERSONAL COMMUNICATION. MUSEUM RECORDS COLLATED BY ISRAEL DEL TORO
• Deslippe, R.J. and R. Savolainen. 1995. Mechanisms of Competition in a Guild of Formicine Ants. Oikos 72(1):67-73
• Dubois, M.B. and W.E. Laberge. 1988. An Annotated list of the ants of Illionois. pages 133-156 in Advances in Myrmecology, J. Trager
• 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. 1945 (1944). The ants of the Chicago region. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 37: 447-480
• Gregg R. E. 1946. The ants of northeastern Minnesota. American Midland Naturalist 35: 747-755.
• Gregg R. E. 1952. The female of Formica opaciventris Emery (Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge) 59: 13-19.
• Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87.
• Kannowski P. B. 1956. The ants of Ramsey County, North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist 56(1): 168-185.
• Piers H. 1922. List of a small collection of ants (Formicidae) obtained in Queen's County, Nova Scotia, by the late Walter H. Prest. Proceedings and Transactions of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 15(4), 169-173.
• Prest W. H., and H. Piers. 1922. List of a Small Collection of Ants (Formicidae) obtained in Queen's County, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotian Institute of Science 15(4): 169-173.
• 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. 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. 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. A list of Indiana ants. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science 26: 460-466.
• 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