Myrmica incompleta

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Myrmica incompleta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Myrmicini
Genus: Myrmica
Species: M. incompleta
Binomial name
Myrmica incompleta
Provancher, 1881

Myrmica incompleta casent0005703 profile 1.jpg

Myrmica incompleta casent0005703 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

This ant inhabits deciduous forests where it forms large colonies with many queens (polygynous) and consisting of numerous nests (polydomous) in moist soil and in mounds of moss. It is host for the xenobiotic ant Formicoxenus provancheri.


At a Glance • Polygynous  

Photo Gallery

  • Worker from Groton, Massachusetts. Photo by Tom Murray.
  • Myrmica incompleta tending aphids on Oenothera biennis. These ants were almost torpid, virtually unmoved by any positioning of the plant. Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, USA, 28 July 2016. Photo by James Trager.
  • Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, USA, 28 July 2016. Photo by James Trager.

Identification

The temperate M. incompleta is similar in appearance to the boreal Myrmica alaskensis; they are most easily separated geographically. Useful morphological characters to distinguish these two species are the clypeus, which bulges outward and has a concave margin in M. incompleta but is flattened and has a convex margin in M. alaskensis, and the rugae on the head, which are reticulate (net-like) in M. incompleta but parallel in M. alaskensis. (Ellison et.al. 2012)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 64.5959° to 32.25278°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada (type locality), 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.
pChart

Biology

Ant of deciduous forests. This species feeds on honeydew from root-feeding aphids and coccids. It is a host to larvae of the the myrmecophilous syrphid fly Microdon albicomatus.

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 host for the Microdon fly Microdon albicomatus (a predator) in Idaho (type), Washington (Novak, 1977).
  • This species is associated with the aphids Aphis asclepiadis, Aphis farinosa, Aphis gossypii, Aphis medicaginis, Aphis oenotherae, Aphis pomi, Aphis populicola, Aphis rumicis, Artemisaphis artemisicola, Brachycaudus cardui, Brachycaudus prunicola, Chaitophorus macrostachyae, Chaitophorus populicola, Chaitophorus viminalis, Cinara oregonensis, Eriosoma crataegi, Protaphis middletonii, Pterocomma bicolor, Pterocomma salicis, Rhopalosiphum maidis, Uroleucon ambrosiae and Wahlgreniella nervata (Saddiqui et al., 2019 and included references).
  • This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Eucharis sp. (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: polygynous (Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

MCZ-ENT00009196 Myrmica brevinodis var subalpina hef.jpgMCZ-ENT00009196 Myrmica brevinodis var subalpina hal.jpgMCZ-ENT00009196 Myrmica brevinodis var subalpina had.jpgMCZ-ENT00009196 Myrmica brevinodis var subalpina lbs.jpgMyrmica brevinodis-var.-whymperi 20570 20570 hef.jpgMyrmica brevinodis-var.-whymperi 20570 20570 hal.jpgMyrmica brevinodis-var.-whymperi 20570 20570 had.jpgMyrmica brevinodis-var.-whymperi 20570 20570 lbs.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Nomenclature

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

  • incompleta. Myrmica incompleta Provancher, 1881b: 359 (w.q.m.) CANADA.
    • [Also described as new by Provancher, 1883: 602.]
    • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953a: 116 (l.).
    • Junior synonym of laevinodis: Provancher, 1887: 247; Dalla Torre, 1893: 111; Donisthorpe, 1915d: 110; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 789.
    • Status as species: Francoeur & Béique, 1966: 141; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1349; Allred, 1982: 491; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 279; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 161; Coovert, 2005: 36; Ellison, et al. 2012: 285.
    • Senior synonym of brevinodis (and its junior synonyms canadensis, subalpina): Francoeur & Béique, 1966: 141.
    • Senior synonym of frigida, sulcinodoides, whymperi: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 18.
  • brevinodis. Myrmica rubra subsp. brevinodis Emery, 1895c: 312 (w.m.) U.S.A.
    • Wheeler, W.M. 1907b: 74 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953a: 116 (l.).
    • Subspecies of rubra: Forel, 1904a: 154; Wheeler, W.M. 1904e: 303; Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 6; Wheeler, W.M. 1907b: 73 (redescription); Dennis, 1938: 288.
    • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1914b: 53 (in text); Wheeler, W.M. 1916m: 587; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502; Wheeler, W.M. 1917e: 16; Weber, 1939b: 150; Cole, 1942: 368; Weber, 1950b: 189 (redescription); Creighton, 1950a: 95; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 789; Cole, 1953d: 243.
    • Senior synonym of canadensis, subalpina: Weber, 1950b: 189.
    • Junior synonym of incompleta: Francoeur & Béique, 1966: 141.
  • canadensis. Myrmica brevinodis var. canadensis Wheeler, W.M. 1916m: 587 (w.q.m.) CANADA.
    • [First available use of Myrmica rubra subsp. brevinodis var. canadensis Wheeler, W.M. 1907b: 76 (w.q.m.) CANADA; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • Subspecies of brevinodis: Wheeler, W.M. 1916m: 587; Emery, 1921f: 37; Menozzi, 1932b: 310.
    • Junior synonym of brevinodis: Weber, 1950b: 189.
  • frigida. Myrmica brevinodis var. frigida Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502 (w.) CANADA.
    • [First available use of Myrmica rubra subsp. brevinodis var. frigida Forel, 1902i: 699 (w.) CANADA; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • Subspecies of brevinodis: Emery, 1921f: 37.
    • Junior synonym of sulcinodoides: Wheeler, W.M. 1917e: 16; Weber, 1950b: 195; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 789.
    • Junior synonym of incompleta: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 18.
  • subalpina. Myrmica brevinodis var. subalpina Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 503 (w.q.m.) U.S.A.
    • [First available use of Myrmica rubra subsp. brevinodis var. subalpina Wheeler, W.M. 1907b: 77 (w.q.m.) U.S.A.; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Myrmica kozlovi subsp. subalpina Ruzsky, 1915a: 438 (Bolton, 1995b: 283).]
    • Subspecies of brevinodis: Emery, 1921f: 37.
    • Junior synonym of brevinodis: Weber, 1950b: 189.
  • sulcinodoides. Myrmica brevinodis var. sulcinodoides Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502 (w.) U.S.A.
    • [First available use of Myrmica rubra subsp. brevinodis var. sulcinodoides Emery, 1895c: 313 (w.) U.S.A.; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • Wheeler, W.M. 1907b: 76 (q.m.).
    • Subspecies of brevinodis: Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502; Wheeler, W.M. 1917e: 16; Emery, 1921f: 37; Cole, 1942: 368; Weber, 1950b: 195 (redescription); Smith, M.R. 1951a: 789.
    • Subspecies of incompleta: Smith, D.R. 1979: 1349.
    • Junior synonym of brevinodis: Creighton, 1950a: 96.
    • Status as species: Hunt & Snelling, 1975: 21; Mackay, Lowrie, et al. 1988: 92 (in key).
    • Senior synonym of frigida: Wheeler, W.M. 1917e: 16; Weber, 1950b: 195.
    • Junior synonym of whymperi: Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502.
    • [Note: Wheeler gives sulcinodoides as senior synonym, but whymperi has priority (Bolton, 1995b: 284).]
    • Junior synonym of incompleta: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 18.
  • whymperi. Myrmica brevinodis var. whymperi Forel, 1913l: 215 (w.) U.S.A.
    • [First available use of Myrmica rubra r. brevinodis var. whymperi Forel, 1904a: 154 (w.) U.S.A.; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • Synonym of sulcinodoides: Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 502; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 789.
    • [Note: Wheeler, and Smith, M.R., give sulcinodoides as senior synonym, but whymperi has priority (Bolton, 1995b: 284).]
    • Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 284; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 168.
    • Junior synonym of incompleta: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 18.

Type Material

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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