Lasius sabularum

Lasius sabularum
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. sabularum
Binomial name
Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918) Specimen labels

This species exhibits temporary social parasitism. Queens found new colonies by infiltrating an established nest of Lasius niger (unconfirmed) (de la Mora et al., 2021; Janda et al., 2004; Seifert, 2018), killing the queen and using host workers to care for her initial brood.

At a Glance

• Temporary parasite

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Lasius species of the subgenus Chthonolasius of Greece

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 60.51° to 40.732222°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France (type locality), Germany, Greece, Iberian Peninsula, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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.

Habitat

Borowiec and Salata 2022 - No data from Greece. In other countries it was noted from woodland margins with open habitats, old orchards, meadows, semidry grassland with few bushes and trees.

Biology

Nests under large stones or in rotten tree trunks.

Flight Period

							X	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 host for the ant Lasius fuliginosus (a temporary parasite) (de la Mora et al., 2021; Seifert, 2018).
• This species is a xenobiont for the ant Lasius umbratus (a xenobiont) in Poland (Borowiec, 2011; Kanizsai et al., 2013) (Stand of oak trees. Under stone.).

Castes

Worker

• 

  Borowiec and Salata 2022. Figures 108.3-4, worker. Photographed by Lech Borowiec.
• 

  Borowiec and Salata 2022. Figures 108.1-2, worker. Photographed by Lech Borowiec.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0172758. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

• sabularum. Formicina umbrata var. sabularum Bondroit, 1918: 30 (q.) FRANCE. Seifert, 1988: 147 (w.m.). Combination in Lasius (Chthonolasius): Emery, 1925b: 234. Subspecies of mixtus: Bondroit, 1920a: 143; Stitz, 1939: 299. Junior synonym of umbratus: Stärcke, 1937: 56; Wilson, 1955a: 151. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Seifert, 1988: 147.

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

Description

Worker

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Monomorphic, large, HL 1.095-1.90, HW 1.063-1.190, ML 1.33-1.43. Scape elongate, SL 0.929-1.008. Color. Whole body including appendages pale yellow. Structure and setation. Head from as long as wide to slightly longer than wide, sides rounded, occipital margin slightly concave. Eyes very small, head length at least 6.0 times the maximum diameter of eye. Whole frontal head covered with moderately long, appressed and moderately dense pubescence and sparse, moderately long, erected setae, surface well visible, microsculptured but shiny. Occipital part of head with 14-18 long erected setae. Gena and underside of head with numerous erected setae. Mesosomal dorsum with several long erected setae, length of the longest seta 0.087. Below propodeal spiracle 5-8 short erected setae. Antennal scapi moderately flattened, anterior surface with short appressed and slightly decumbent pubescence lacking erected setae, at most with some subdecumbent pubescence, posterior surface lacking erected setae, sometimes with 1-2 suberect setae. Hind tibiae moderately broad and flattened, usually lacking suberect or erected setae on external surface, sometimes with 1-3 erected setae. Ventral surface of femora and tibiae with erected setae, anterior surface of fore coxa with few long erected setae. Pubescence on appendages, head and mesosoma moderately dense and whitish, on gaster distinctly denser than on mesosoma but not covering surface. Pubescence of clypeus sparse, not covering clypeus surface. Surface of gastral tergites distinctly sculptured but shiny, first gastral tergite on the whole surface with dense, moderately long erected setae. Petiolar scale slightly broadened in the middle, slightly narrowed anterad, upper margin with shallow median emargination. Propodeum in lateral view high, slightly conical, metanotal groove deep.

References

• Bondroit, J. 1918. Les fourmis de France et de Belgique. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 87: 1-174 (page 30, queen described)
• Bondroit, J. 1920a [1919]. Notes diverses sur des fourmis d'Europe. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 59: 143-158 (page 143, Variety of mixtus)
• Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. A monographic review of ants of Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Vol. 1. Introduction and review of all subfamilies except the subfamily Myrmicinae. Part 1: text. Natural History Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum 1: 1-297.
• Borowiec, L., van Delft, J.P.L., van Delft, J.J.C.W., Salata, S. 2023. Five ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) new to the Greek fauna with notes on ants from Greek Thrace. Annales of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 32 (online 008), 1-13 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.10101028).
• Borowiec, M.L. 2011. First records of Lasius sabularum (BONDROIT, 1918) in Poland (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News,14, 137–140.
• Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L., Prebus, M.M. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47, 113-151 (doi:10.1111/syen.12522).
• Dekoninck, W., Boer, P., Maelfait, J.-P. 2004. Lasius platythorax SEIFERT, 1991 as a host of several Chthonolasius species, with remarks on the colony foundation of the parasites (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 6: 5-8.
• Dekoninck, W., Ignace, D., Vankerkhoven, F., Wegnez, P. 2012. Verspreidingsatlas van de mieren van België. Bulletin de la Société royale belge d’Entomologie 148: 95-186.
• Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 234, Combination in Lasius (Chthonolasius))
• Haelewaters, D., Boer, P., Noordijk, J. 2015. Studies of Laboulbeniales (Fungi, Ascomycota) on Myrmica ants: Rickia wasmanniii in the Netherlands. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 44, 39–47 (doi:10.3897/jhr.44.4951).
• Kanizsai, O., Lőrinczi, G., Gallé, L. 2013. Nesting associations without interdependence: A preliminary review on plesiobiosis in ants. Psyche 2013, 238602 (doi:10.1155/2013/238602).
• Kirchmair, G., Friess, T. et al. 2017. Zoologischer Bericht vom Tag der Biodiversität 2017 im Naturpark Südsteiermark. Mitteilungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereines für Steiermark 147: 99–134.
• Phillips, A.L., Attewell, P. J. 2011. An occurrence of Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918) and Lasius umbratus (Nylander, 1846) within the same nest in Lincolnshire, England. BWARS Newsletter Autumn 2011:22-24.
• Seifert, B. 1988a. A revision of the European species of the ant subgenus Chthonolasius (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Entomol. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierkd. Dres. 51: 143-180 (page 147, Revived from synonymy, and raised to species)
• Seifert, B. 1988a. A revision of the European species of the ant subgenus Chthonolasius (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Entomol. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierkd. Dres. 51: 143-180 (page 147, worker, male described)
• Sondej, I., Domisch, T. 2024. Impact of large-scale fire and habitat type on ant nest density and species abundance in Biebrza National Park, Poland. Forests 151, 123 (doi:10.3390/f15010123).
• Stärcke, A. 1937. Retouches sur quelques fourmis d'Europe. II. Lasius groupe umbratus Nylander. Tijdschr. Entomol. 80: 38-72 (page 56, Junior synonym of umbratus)
• Stitz, H. 1939. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meersteile nach ihren Merkmalen und nach ihrer Lebensweise. 37. Theil. Hautflüger oder Hymenoptera. I: Ameisen oder Formicidae. Jena: G. Fischer, 428 pp. (page 299, Variety of mixtus)
• Stukalyuk, S., Radchenko, Y., Gonchar, O., Akhmedov, A., Stelia, V., Reshetov, A., Shymanskyi, A. 2021. Mixed colonies of Lasius umbratus and Lasius fuliginosus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): when superparasitism may potentially develop into coexistence: a case study in Ukraine and Moldova. Halteres 12, 25–48 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.5753121).
• Wilson, E. O. 1955a. A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 1-201 (page 151, Junior synonymy of umbratus)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• AntArea. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://antarea.fr/fourmi/
• Antarea (Personal Communication - Rumsais Blatrix- 27 April 2018)
• Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
• Antonov I. A. 2013. An addition to the myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Baikalian Siberia. Journal of Zoology (in Russian) 92(8): 991-993.
• Bezdecka P. 1996. The ants of Slovakia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomofauna carpathica 8: 108-114.
• Blacker N. C. and C. A. Collingwood. 2002. Some significant new records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Salisbury area, south Wiltshire, England, with a key to the British species of Lasius. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 15: 25-46
• Boer P. 2019. Species list of the Netherlands. Accessed on January 22 2019 at http://www.nlmieren.nl/websitepages/specieslist.html
• Boer P., W. Dekoninck, A. J. Van Loon, and F. Vankerkhoven. 2003. Lijst van mieren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) van Belgie en Nederland, hun Nederlandse namen en hun voorkomen. Entomologische Berichten (Amsterdam) 63: 54-58.
• Boer P., W. Dekoninck, A. J. van Loon, and F. Vankerkhoven. 2003. Lijst van mieren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) van Belgie en Nederland, hun Nederlandse namen en hun voorkomen. Entomologische Berichten 63(3): 54-57.
• Boer P., W. Dekoninck, A. J. van Loon, and F. Vankerkhoven. 2003. List of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Belgium and The Netherlands, their status and Dutch vernacular names. Entomologische Berichten 63 (3): 54-58.
• Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Borowiec M. L. 2011. First records of Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918) in Poland (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 14: 137-140.
• Bracko G. 2007. Checklist of the ants of Slovenia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Natura Sloveniae 9: 15-24
• Casevitz-Weulersse J., and C. Galkowski. 2009. Liste actualisee des Fourmis de France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 114: 475-510.
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• Formidabel Database
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