Leptothorax kutteri

Leptothorax kutteri
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Leptothorax
Species:	L. kutteri
Binomial name
Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger, 1966 Specimen Labels

This species is a workerless inquiline. Queens live in the nest of a different ant species, have no workers and are entirely dependent on their hosts for food. The queens produce eggs that are cared for and raised to maturity by the host workers.

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Palaearctic Leptothorax and Formicoxenus

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 62.9592° to 46.433333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany (type locality), Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland, 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

Ødegaard et al. (2015) - In Norway, 1 dealate queen and 3 alate males, in a colony of Leptothorax acervorum established in a rotten pine log. The site was located in a boreal forest dominated by Scots pine Pinus sylvestris Linnaeus, 1753 and Norway spruce Picea abies (Linnaeus, 1753) Karsten, 1881. Relatively large amounts of dead wood in proper state for establishment of L. acervorum was present in the surroundings. The occurrence of this species in Norway is not surprising, as it has a wide distribution in both Sweden and Finland. The species lives in an inquiline relationship with Leptothorax acervorum. One or a few queens are normally found in the host colony and their presence do not seem to affect brood productions by the host appreciably (Douwes et al. 2012).

Flight Period

						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.

Gregarine

• This species is a host for the gregarine Mattesia geminata (a parasite) in Germany (Buschinger & Kleespies, 1999).

Life History Traits

• Queen number: polygynous

Castes

Male

Diploid males are known to occur in this species (found in 19.7% of 61 examined nests) (Buschinger & Fischer, 1991; Cournault & Aron, 2009).

Radchenko, Dlussky, and Perfilieva 2018. Figure 12.

Nomenclature

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

• kutteri. Leptothorax (Mychothorax) kutteri Buschinger, 1966a: 327, figs. 1, 2, 3 (q.m.) GERMANY. Combination in Doronomyrmex: Buschinger, 1981: 215; in Leptothorax: Heinze, 1998: 195 (combination not stated); Bolton, 2003: 270. See also: Kutter, 1967b: 85; Kutter, 1977c: 130; Buschinger, 1972: 169.

Description

Karyotype

• See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• n = 23; 24; 25 (France; Germany; Italy; Sweden; Switzerland) (Buschinger & Fischer, 1991; Douwes & Buschinger, 1983; Fischer, 1987) (as Doronomyrmex kutteri).

References

• Allies, A.B., Bourke, A.F.G., Franks, N.R. 2986. Propaganda substances in the cuckoo ant Leptothorax kutteri and the slave-maker Harpagoxenus sublaevis. Journal of Chemical Ecology 12: 1285-1293 (doi:10.1007/BF01012348).
• Baer, B. 2011. The copulation biology of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 14: 55-68.
• Blatrix R., Lebas C., Wegnez P., Galkowski C., Buschinger A., 2013. New data on the distribution of Leptothorax pacis and L. kutteri, two very rare parasitic ants, and confirmation of the presence of L. gredleri in France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Revue de l’Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie, 22, 85-91.
• Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 272, Combination revived in Leptothorax)
• Buschinger, A. 1966a [1965]. Leptothorax (Mychothorax) kutteri n. sp., eine sozialparasitische Ameise (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes Soc. 12: 327-334. (page 327, figs. 1, 2, 3 queen, male described)
• Buschinger, A. 1972a. Kreuzung zweier sozialparasitischer Ameisenarten, Doronymyrmex pacis Kutter und Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger (Hym., Formicidae). Zool. Anz. 189: 169-179 (page 169, see also)
• Buschinger, A. 1981. Biological and systematic relationships of social parasitic Leptothoracini from Europe and North America. Pp. 211-222 in: Howse, P. E., Clement, J.-L. (eds.) Biosystematics of social insects. Systematics Association Special Volume No. 19. London: Academic Press, 346 pp. (page 215, Combination in Doronomyrmex)
• Buschinger, A. 2009. Social parasitism among ants: a review (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
• Buschinger, A., Fischer, K. 1991. Hybridization of chromosome-polymorphic populations of the inquiline ant, Doronomyrmex kutteri (Hym., Formicidae). Insect Soc 38:95–103
• Buschinger, A., Kleespies, R.G. 1999. Host range and host specificity of an ant-pathogenic gregarine parasite, Mattesia geminata (Neogregarinida: Lipotrophidae). Entomologia Generalis 24: 93-104 (doi:10.1127/entom.gen/24/1999/93).
• Cournault, L., Aron, S. 2009. Diploid males, diploid sperm production, and triploid females in the ant Tapinoma erraticum. Naturwissenschaften 96: 1393–1400 (doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0590-1).
• de Bekker, C., Will, I., Das, B., Adams, R.M.M. 2018. The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and their parasites: effects of parasitic manipulations and host responses on ant behavioral ecology. Myrmecological News 28: 1-24 (doi:10.25849/myrmecol.news_028:001).
• de la Mora, A., Sankovitz, M., Purcell, J. 2020. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as host and intruder: recent advances and future directions in the study of exploitative strategies. Myrmecological News 30: 53-71 (doi:10.25849/MYRMECOL.NEWS_030:053).
• Heinze, J. 1998 [1995]. The origin of workerless parasites in Leptothorax (s. str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Camb.) 102: 195-214 (page 195, Returned to Leptothorax)
• Johnson, C.A. 2000. Mechanisms of dependent colony founding in the slave-making ant, Polyergus breviceps Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ph.D. thesis, City University of New York.
• Kiran, K., Karaman, C., Heinze, J. 2021. First record of the inquiline ant Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger, 1965 from Turkey. Sociobiology 68, e7224 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v68i3.7224).
• Kutter, H. 1967c. Beschreibung neuer Sozialparasiten von Leptothorax acervorum F. (Formicidae). Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 40: 78-91 (page 85, see also)
• Kutter, H. 1977c. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Insecta Helv. Fauna 6: 1-298 (page 130, see also)
• Lenoir, A., P. D’Ettorre, P., Errard, C., Hefetz, A. 2001. Chemical ecology and social parasitism in ants. Annual Review of Entomology 46: 573–599.
• Mori, A., Grasso, D.A., Visicchio, R., Le Moli, F. 2000. Colony founding in Polyergus rufescens: the role of the Dufour’s gland. Insectes Sociaux 47: 7-10.
• Ødegaard, F., K.M. Olsen, A. Staverløkk, and J. O. Gjershaug. 2015. Towards a new era for the knowledge of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Norway? Nine species new to the country. Norwegian Journal of Entomology. 62:80-99.
• Radchenko, A., Dlussky, G.M., Perfilieva, K. 2018. A new extinct ant genus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from the Late Eocene Rovno amber – a putative ancestor of the Leptothorax genus group. Myrmecological News. 27:111-117.
• Ruano, F., Hefetz, A., Lenoir, A., Francke, W., Tinaut, A. 2005. Dufour's gland secretion as a repellent used during usurpation by the slave-maker ant Rossomyrmex minuchae. Journal of Insect Physiology 51, 1158–1164 (doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2005.06.005).
• Seifert, B. 2023. Two new species of Formicoxenus Mayr 1855 and Leptothorax Mayr 1855 from Tibet (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Soil Organisms 95(2), 129-142 (doi:10.25674/SO95ISS2ID315).
• Yusupov, Z.M. 2014. Two ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Northern Caucasus, new to the fauna of Russia. Entomological Review 94, 286–287 (doi:10.1134/s0013873814020195).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Alinvi, O., J. Bohlin and J. P. Ball. 2008. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Interspecific competition among ants in the boreal forest: Testing predictions from a linear hierarchical competition model. Insectes Sociaux 55(1):1-11.
• 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)
• ArtDatabanken Bugs (via GBIG)
• 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. 2007. Second record of the ant Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger, 1966 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Poland. Przeglad Zoologiczny 50: 37-40.
• Buschinger A. 1999. Bemerkenswerte ameisenfunde aus Sudtirol (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 3: 1-8.
• Casevitz-Weulersse J., and C. Galkowski. 2009. Liste actualisee des Fourmis de France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 114: 475-510.
• Czechowski W., A. Radchenko, W. Czechowska and K. Vepsäläinen. 2012. The ants of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. Fauna Poloniae 4. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 1-496 pp
• Douwes, P., and A. Buschinger. "Två för Nordeuropa nya myror." Entomologisk Tidskrift 104 (1983): 1-4.
• Gjershaug J. O., F. Odegaard, A. Staverlokk, and K. M. Olsen. 2016. Records of bilateral gynandromorphism in three species of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Norway. Norwegian. Journal of Entomology 63: 65–70.
• Heinze, J. 1995. The Origin of Workerless Parasites in Leptothorax (S. Str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102 (3-4) :195-214
• Odegaard F., K. M. Olsen, A. Staverlokk, and J. O. Gjershaug. 2015. Towards a new era for the knowledge of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Norway? Nine species new to the country. Nowegian Journal of Entomology 62: 80–99.
• Saaristo M. I. 1995. Distribution maps of the outdoor myrmicid ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Finland, with notes on their taxonomy and ecology. Entomol. Fennica 6: 153-162.
• Seifert B. 1994. Die freilebenden Ameisenarten Deutschlands (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) und Angaben zu deren Taxonomie und Verbreitung. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Naturkundemuseums Görlitz 67(3): 1-44.
• Seifert B. 1998. Rote Liste der Ameisen. - in: M. Binot, R. Bless, P. Boye, H. Gruttke und P. Pretscher: Rote Liste gefährdeter Tiere Deutschlands. Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1998: 130-133.
• Steiner F. M., S. Schödl, and B. C. Schlick-Steiner. 2002. Liste der Ameisen Österreichs (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Stand Oktober 2002. Beiträge zur Entomofaunistik 3: 17-25.