Lasius frequens

Lasius frequens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Lasiini
Genus:	Lasius
Section:	niger clade
Species group:	brunneus
Species complex:	turcicus
Species:	L. frequens
Binomial name
	Lasius frequens; Seifert, 2024

This species has a wide distribution over natural, rural and urban habitats in Iran.

Identification

Distribution

Seifert (2024) - So far only known from Türkiye and Iran between 30 and 56° E and 31 and 39° N. The altitudinal distribution ranges from -30 m to 1463 m.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 39° to 31°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: Seifert, 2024

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Iran (type locality), Türkiye.

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

Seifert (2024) - All but one of the Iranian findings were made along the humid Caspian zone between 35.5 and 38.6° N and at elevations between minus 30 and 1463 m. Extremely dry habitats are avoided. The exceptional finding in the city of Yazd (31.890°N, 54.356°E, 1224 m), located within a hot desert zone, was made in a park with irrigation. The habitat distribution of 65 Iranian nest samples was: 53.8 % inside humid Caspian broad-leafed forest, 12.3 % in cities or villages with gardens, 12.3 % in cities with few greeneries, 9.2 % in ecotones between Caspian broad-leafed forest and open land, 4.6 % in humid grassland with shrubs, 3.1 % in horticultural fields in a humid lagoon, 3.1 % at river banks and 1.5 % on open Caspian Sea shore. The nest microhabitats of 26 reported cases were 57.7 % under stones, 19.2 % in rotten log, 15.4 % in soil, and 3.8 % each in leaf litter and in a wall.

Contrasting the small mean worker size, the four available winged gynes of L. frequens are rather large and have about 160 % of the mesosoma volume of Lasius neglectus gynes (Tab. 3) which indicates strongly developed flight muscles. This morphological trait and the wide distribution over natural, rural and urban habitats indicate that this species should perform, in contrast to L. neglectus, a normal nuptial flight with long-range flight-dispersal and independent single-queen colony foundation.

The biology reported above raises suspicion that parts of an ant population from Uzbekistan, identified by Stukalyuk et al. (2020) as Lasius neglectus, could really refer to L. frequens.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

frequens. Lasius frequens Seifert, 2024: 191, figs. 6-8 (w.) IRAN.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Type Material

Lasius frequens: Holotype (designated by Seifert, 2024), 1 worker, Abkenar, horticultural area in humid lagoon, Iran, 37°27′45″N 49°20′08″E / 37.46261°N 49.33553°E / 37.46261; 49.33553, 15.vi.2016, A. Yazdi, -392, SMNG.
Lasius frequens: Paratypes (designated by Seifert, 2024), 2 workers, Abkenar, horticultural area in humid lagoon, Iran, 37°27′45″N 49°20′08″E / 37.46261°N 49.33553°E / 37.46261; 49.33553, 15.vi.2016, A. Yazdi, -392, SMNG.
Lasius frequens: Paratypes (designated by Seifert, 2024), 3 workers, Abkenar, horticultural area in humid lagoon, Iran, 37°27′45″N 49°20′08″E / 37.46261°N 49.33553°E / 37.46261; 49.33553, 15.vi.2016, A. Yazdi, -393, SMNG.
Lasius frequens: Paratypes (designated by Seifert, 2024), 4 workers, Abkenar, village with a lot of greenery, Iran, 37°57′16″N 49°20′00″E / 37.95453°N 49.33342°E / 37.95453; 49.33342, 15.vi.2016, A. Yazdi, -391, SMNG.
Lasius frequens: Paratypes (designated by Seifert, 2024), 3 workers, Abkenar, village with a lot of greenery, Iran, 37°57′16″N 49°20′00″E / 37.95453°N 49.33342°E / 37.95453; 49.33342, 15.vi.2016, A. Yazdi, -389, SMNG.

Description

Worker

Body size small (CS 785 µm). Head rather long (CL / CW 1.119). Scape and terminal segment of maxillary palps longer than in all closely related species (SL / CS 1.019, MP6 / CS 0.217). Postocular and torulo-clypeal distance rather small (PoOc / CL 0.227, dClAn / CS 3.87 %). Eye moderately large (EYE / CS 0.247). Number of mandibular dents low (MaDe 7.4). Clypeal pubescence very dilute (sqPDCL 5.38). Pronotal setae rather short (PnHL / CS 0.126), slightly longer than gular setae (GuHL / CS 0.115). Seta numbers on hind vertex, underside of head, genae and metapleuron low (nOcc 6.0, nGu 2.5, nGen 0.8, nSt 2.8). Dorsum of scape and extensor side of hind tibia almost always without setae. Propodeum in lateral view with a rather shallow dome. Petiole scale in profile view rather thin with an acute dorsal tip. Pubescence hairs on frons rather long (PLF 31.0 µm). Head dark to medium brown but mandibles and lateral parts of clypeus yellowish. Mesosoma in small and medium-sized specimens light brown with a typical yellowish component which is usually not seen in Lasius neglectus. Gaster medium brown. Antennae, metatarsae and tarsae yellowish.

Etymology

Meaning “frequent”, named so because it was by far the most abundant Lasius s. str. species collected in the Iran.

References