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Leptothorax wilsoni
| Leptothorax wilsoni | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Leptothorax |
| Species: | L. wilsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptothorax wilsoni Heinze, 1989
| |
This species is an inquiline in the nests of at least two Leptothorax species (Heinze et al., 1997). 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.
| At a Glance | • Workerless Inquiline |
Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 52.873° to 45.96°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: Canada, United States (type locality).
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. |
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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
Castes
Queen
   
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| . | Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology. |
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0070308. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
   
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104848. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA. |
Male
Images from AntWeb
    
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| Male (alate). Specimen code casent0070309. 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.
- wilsoni. Leptothorax wilsoni Heinze, 1989: 50, figs. 1-5 (q.m.) U.S.A.
Description
References
- Buschinger, A. (2009) Social parasitism among ants: a review. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
- Buschinger, A.; Schumann, R. D. 1994. New records of Leptothorax wilsoni from western North America. Psyche (Camb.) 101: 13-18 (page 12, see also)
- Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
- Heinze, J. 1989c. Leptothorax wilsoni n.sp., a new parasitic ant from eastern North America (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Camb.) 96: 49-62. (page 50, figs. 1-4 queen, male described)
- Heinze, J., Trunzer, B., and Ortius, D. 1995. A second host species for the inquiline ant Leptothorax wilsoni. Psyche 102: 74–77.
- 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).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Buschinger, A. and A. Schulz. 2008. Leptothorax athabasca sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Alberta, Canada and ant with an apparently restricted range. Myrmecological News 11:243-248
- Buschinger, A. and R.D. Schumann. 1994. New records of Leptothorax wilsoni from western North America. Psyche 101: 13-18
- Heinze, J. 1995. The Origin of Workerless Parasites in Leptothorax (S. Str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102 (3-4) :195-214