Lasius minutus

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Lasius minutus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Lasiini
Genus: Lasius
Section: flavus clade
Species group: umbratus
Species: L. minutus
Binomial name
Lasius minutus
Emery, 1893

Lasius minutus casent0104880 profile 1.jpg

Lasius minutus casent0104880 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Lasius minutus nests in bogs and fens. Its nests can be fairly large mounds approaching half a meter in height. It is a thought to be a temporary social parasite of Lasius americanus and Lasius pallitarsis as well as the host of the temporary social hyperparasites (i.e., a parasite of a parasite) Lasius interjectus (de la Mora et al., 2021; Raczkowski & Luque, 2011) and Lasius speculiventris (Ellison et al., 2012). Despite its scientific name, the workers are not unusually small, but the queens are. (Ellison et al., 2012)

At a Glance • Temporary parasite  

Identification

Wilson (1955) - A distinctive North American species most easily recognized by the small size and unusual pilosity of the queen. (See Lasius bicornis for a more detailed comparison with that species.)

Ellison et al., (2012) - In New England, Lasius minutus is most easily confused with the similarly hairy Lasius subumbratus. But the hairs on the gaster of L. minutus are very long – longer than the hind tibia is wide – whereas the hairs on the gaster of L. subumbratus are much shorter. (Ellison et al., 2012)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

This is an eastern species that lives throughout eastern North America, south to Virginia, and west to Indiana. It has been collected only a few times throughout New England. (Ellison et al., 2012)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 56.792° to 31.441°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada, United States (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

Notes accompanying specimens records indicate that Lasius minutus prefers to nest in sphagnum bogs and swampy meadows but will also move into open, dry forest. It has been taken most often in mounds or masonry domes in open areas, and only once (Steuben Co., Ind.) in a log. Brown (pers. commun.) has supplied me with complete notes on his Pennsylvania collections. South of Oxford, near the Pennsylvania-Maryland border, he found a population of this species nesting in masonry domes on the open grassy floor of a tongue of pitch pine woods. These domes measured between about 8 and 18 inches in height and about 2 feet in base diameter, had peculiar bulging sides, and were overgrown with short grass. Similar domes were found in a population at Ottsville along the border of an old pasture and oak-hickory woods. At both localities workers were rather scarce in the nests, and at Ottsville some of the domes were inhabited by Formica fusca instead.

A clue to the host species of minutus is supplied by the following note accompanying a series in the United States National Museum: "N. J./Aug. 15 '85/in hickory stem with Lasius americanus." The nesting site is one typical for americanus, and the determination in this case was probably correct. (Wilson 1955)

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.
  • This species is a xenobiont for the ant Pheidole picea (a xenobiont) in United States (Gaige ,1914; Kanizsai et al., 2013) (Hardwood forest. In a stump.).

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • minutus. Lasius umbratus subsp. minutus Emery, 1893i: 641 (w.q.m.) U.S.A.
    • Combination in L. (Chthonolasius): Ruzsky, 1914a: 61.
    • Subspecies of umbratus: Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 13; Wheeler, W.M. 1910e: 241 (redescription); Wheeler, W.M. 1916k: 172.
    • Subspecies of bicornis: Emery, 1925b: 233; Creighton, 1950a: 421.
    • Status as species: Wilson, 1955a: 180 (redescription); Smith, D.R. 1979: 1438; Bolton, 1995b: 224; Coovert, 2005: 126; Ellison, et al. 2012: 194.

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

Description

Worker

Wilson (1955) - Similar to Lasius umbratus in habitus, but smaller and with distinctive pilosity and petiole shape.

(1) Apparently averaging and ranging smaller than umbratus; extreme PW range 0.52-0.69 mm.

(2) Entire body covered with long, coarse standing hairs, the longest on the alitrunk and gastric tergites at least 0.6 X as long as the maximum width of the hind tibia midpoint and usually much longer. At the same time, the scapes and tibiae completely bare except for a few decumbent hairs along the flexor margins of the tibiae. Pubescence abundant and strongly appressed.

(3) The petiole, measured in frontal view from the level of the dorsal border of the posterior foramen to the level of the dorsolateral corners, longer than its maximum width in frontal view, and usually with a distinctive shape: tapering from the broadest level (just above the foramina) to the dorsal crest and often expanding again just at the level of the crest; the dorsal margin distinctly but shallowly emarginate (Pl. 2, Fig. 4).

(4) The scape rounded in cross-section.

Queen

Wilson (1955) - (1) Smaller than umbratus and Lasius bicornis. HW of all available series ranging 1.02-1.17 mm,

(2) Entire body covered with long, coarse hairs, the longest on the first two gastric tergites longer than the greatest width of the hind tibia at its midlength. Scapes completely bare of standing hairs; tibiae bare except for a few decumbent hairs along the flexor margins of the hind tibiae.

(3) Petiole in frontal view shallowly and angularly emarginate, with very broadly rounded dorsolateral corners.

(4) The scape rounded in cross-section.

Male

(1) Smaller than umbratus and other umbratus complex members. HW range of limited sample measured 0.80-0.92 mm.

(2) Long, coarse standing hairs abundant over body surface, the longest on the clypeus exceeding 0.15 mm., or greater than one-sixth the head width; the longest on the first gastric tergite 0.15 mm., or 1.6 X the maximum width of the hind tibia at its midlength.

Type Material

Wilson (1955) - SYNTYPES. Three nidotopotype workers in the Museum of Comparative Zoology ("N. J./Aug. 25 '85/Pergande") correspond well to syntype workers borrowed from the Emery Collection ("Kittery Point, Me./Aug. '91/no. 285"). I have declined to designate a lectotype because of the good possibility that this former series was not in Emery's hands at the time of original description, but there can be no doubt that the name has been correctly placed.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's Thesis Purdue university, 385 pages.
  • Clark Adam. Personal communication on November 25th 2013.
  • 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
  • Drummond F. A., A. M. llison, E. Groden, and G. D. Ouellette. 2012. The ants (Formicidae). In Biodiversity of the Schoodic Peninsula: Results of the Insect and Arachnid Bioblitzes at the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park, Maine. Maine Agricultural and forest experiment station, The University of Maine, Technical Bulletin 206. 217 pages
  • Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87.
  • Ivanov K., L. Hightower, S. T. Dash, and J. B. Keiper. 2019. 150 years in the making: first comprehensive list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Virginia, USA. Zootaxa 4554 (2): 532–560.
  • Lubertazi, D. Personal Communication. Specimen Data from Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard
  • Merle W. W. 1939. An Annotated List of the Ants of Maine (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological News. 50: 161-165
  • Ouellette G. D., F. A. Drummond, B. Choate and E. Groden. 2010. Ant diversity and distribution in Acadia National Park, Maine. Environmental Entomology 39: 1447-1556
  • 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., J. Wheeler and P.B. Kannowski. 1994. CHECKLIST OF THE ANTS OF MICHIGAN (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). Great Lakes Entomologist 26:1:297-310
  • Wilson E. O. 1955. A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 1-201
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