Formica wheeleri

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Formica wheeleri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Formica
Species: F. wheeleri
Binomial name
Formica wheeleri
Creighton, 1935

Formica wheeleri casent0102800 profile 1.jpg

Formica wheeleri casent0102800 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

This species usually nests under stones, but may construct earthen mounds or even thatched domes in rocky loam soils. Reproductives were found in nests in July, dealate females also in July. The males are apparently very large (Cole, 1955c; Mackay and Mackay 2002).

At a Glance • Dulotic  

Identification

The petiole of this species has a blunt apex and is wide as seen from the front. The head is often darker than the mesosoma. The underside of the head usually has a pair of erect hairs. The hairs on the gaster are about 0.1 mm long, and are moderately fine, mostly sharp-tipped. Those on the pronotum are shorter, thicker and at least a few are blunt-tipped. The eyes are large, extending past the sides of the head in most workers. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Distribution

United States: Idaho and Montana to North Dakota, south to Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: 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.
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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.
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Habitat

In New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002) - Sagebrush scrub, grasslands up to ponderosa pine and aspen-spruce 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.

Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) We have 2 records from the same locality in the Cool Desert: Washoe Co.: 11 mi. S Reno, 5,500 ft. One nest was under a stone; the other was exposed and surmounted by a low crater of fine soil 37 cm in diameter. The workers were fast and aggressive.

Slave Making

Formica wheeleri is known to enslave the following species:

Castes

Worker

MCZ-ENT00023138 Formica wheeleri hef.jpgMCZ-ENT00023138 Formica wheeleri hal.jpgMCZ-ENT00023138 Formica wheeleri hada.jpgMCZ-ENT00023138 Formica wheeleri lbs.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.


Images from AntWeb

Formica wheeleri casent0173019 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173019 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173019 dorsal 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173019 label 1.jpg
Cotype of Formica wheeleriWorker. Specimen code casent0173019. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Formica wheeleri casent0173021 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173021 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173021 dorsal 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173021 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173021. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Formica wheeleri casent0173020 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173020 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173020 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173020. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Formica wheeleri casent0173023 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173023 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173023 profile 2.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173023 dorsal 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173023 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0173023. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Formica wheeleri casent0173022 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173022 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173022 profile 2.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173022 profile 3.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173022 dorsal 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173022 label 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0173022. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Formica wheeleri casent0173024 head 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173024 profile 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173024 profile 2.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173024 profile 3.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173024 dorsal 1.jpgFormica wheeleri casent0173024 label 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0173024. 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.

  • wheeleri. Formica wheeleri Creighton, 1935: 1, fig. 1 (w.q.) U.S.A. Combination in F. (Raptiformica): Creighton, 1950a: 472.

Description

References