Lasius grandis

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Lasius grandis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Lasiini
Genus: Lasius
Section: niger clade
Species group: niger
Species: L. grandis
Binomial name
Lasius grandis
Forel, 1909

Lasius grandis casent0906079 p 1 high.jpg

Lasius grandis casent0906079 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

This ant has been associated with the butterfly Laeosopis roboris and Tomares ballus (Obregon et al. 2015). It was found to be one of the most common invertebrates in historic gardens in the Azores (Arteaga et al., 2020)

At a Glance • Limited invasive  

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Seifert (2020) - Iberia, southernmost France (in Rhone valley north to 44°N), Corsica, Sardinia, introduced to Tenerife. Altitudinal records range from sea level up to 2300 m in the Sierra Nevada at 37°N.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 43.694349° to 30.4°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, Spain (type locality).

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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Biology

Seifert (2020) - This is the most abundant species of the subgenus in Iberia. Laisus grandis inhabits open habitats as well as deciduous and coniferous woodland habitats. It prefers medium to humid moisture conditions and occurs at lower altitudes typically in sheltered conditions (gorges or valleys with running waters). At sites with more precipitations, at altitudes above 2000 m or along the Atlantic coast of Iberia, it occurs in open grassland. Nests are under stones or in soil. Mound construction with mineral soil material, as it is typical for Lasius niger, is occasionally observed. L. grandis behaves as aggressively as L. niger after disturbance of the nest. Alates were observed between end of June and end of July.

Occasional hybridization between Iberian L. grandis and Lasius emarginatus occurs in the contact zone in southern France.

Beltra et al. (2017) found this ant forging on grape vines in Eastern Spain vineyards.

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Lachnus roboris (a trophobiont) (Paris and Espadaler, 2009; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
  • This species is a host for the ichneumonid wasp Hybrizon buccatus (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Aegeritella tuberculata (a pathogen) (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Laboulbenia formicarum (a parasite) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Laboulbenia formicarum (a pathogen) (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Lasius grandis casent0280449 h 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0280449 p 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0280449 d 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0280449 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0280449. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.
Lasius grandis casent0246613 h 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0246613 p 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0246613 d 1 high.jpgLasius grandis casent0246613 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0246613. Photographer Andrea Walker, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • grandis. Lasius niger var. grandis Forel, 1909c: 104 (w.) SPAIN. Seifert, 1992b: 32 (q.). Junior synonym of alienus: Wilson, 1955a: 77; of niger: Yarrow, 1967: 30. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Seifert, 1992b: 32.

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

Description

Seifert (2020) - Absolute size rather large (CS 984 µm). Head and scape length indices large (CL/CW900 1.095, SL/CS900 1.037); postocular distance low (PoOc/CL900 0.222); toruloclypeal distance large (dClAn900 5.01); eye size medium (EYE/CS900 0.239); terminal segment of maxillary palp long (MP6/CS900 0.208). Number of mandibular dents large (MaDe900 8.62). Pubescence on clypeus moderately dense (sqPDCL900 4.53); frontal pubescence short (PLF900 27.2). All body parts with rather numerous standing setae of medium length (PnHL/CS900 0.145, GuHL/CS900 0.125, nGu900 9.8, nSc900 17.5, nHT900 19.4). Cuticular surface of dorsal head and mesosoma within the meshes of the microreticulum smooth and shining. There are two color morphs. The dark morph is rather homogenously dark brown with the exception of pale yellowish-brown mandibles, scapes and tibiae. The light morph shows a distinct reddish color component with clypeus, mandibles, mesosoma, petiole and appendages light reddish-brown whereas vertex and gaster are darker reddish-brown. The light morph constitutes 90% of the samples from Corsica and Sardinia and the dark morph 95% of the samples from Iberia and southern France.

See table 7 in Seifert 2020 for additional morphometrics. The abbreviated names of various quantitative data shown above are defined here: Seifert 2020 Lasius characters.

Type Material

Seifert (2020) - Lectotype (des. E.O. Wilson) plus 4 paralectotype workers on two pins labelled ”L. niger v, grandis Forel type Ronda, Andalousie (C.Voigt)“, ”ANTWEB CASENT 0911047“; depository: Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.

References

(doi:10.3897/bdj.11.e98286).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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