Myrmica kabylica

Myrmica kabylica
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Myrmicini
Genus:	Myrmica
Species:	M. kabylica
Binomial name
	Myrmica kabylica; (Cagniant, 1970)

A workerless social parasite known from a single collection, this species was taken from a nest of Myrmica cagnianti living in subalpine meadow at altitude 1800 m. The host species is very similar to Myrmica aloba, indeed the host nest was originally determined as M. aloba (Espadaler 1996). It is possible that this species parasitizes all M. aloba-like species and might be found in nests of M. aloba on the Iberian Peninsula. (Radchenko and Elmes 2003)

At a Glance

• Workerless Inquiline

Identification

A member of the karavajevi group. In most major features M. kabylica is most similar to Myrmica karavajevi and Myrmica lemasnei, but clearly differs on a combination of morphological features. (Radchenko and Elmes 2003)

Key to Parasitic Myrmica of West Europe and North Africa Queens / Males

Keys including this Species

Key to Myrmica of West Europe and North Africa

Distribution

Known only from the type locality in Algeria.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 36.683333° to 32.249974°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Algeria (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.

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

Castes

Nomenclature

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

kabylica. Sifolinia kabylica Cagniant, 1970d: 40, figs. 1-6 (q.m.) ALGERIA. Combination in Symbiomyrma: Seifert, 1994: 16; in Myrmica: Bolton, 1988a: 4; Radchenko & Elmes, 2003a: 236. See also: Kutter, 1973c: 256 (misspelled as cabylica); Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 160.

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

Description

Queen

Measurements and indices. (syntype): HL 0.84; HW 0.75; SL 0.73; AL 1.21 mm; FI 0.45; FLI 1.06; SI1 0.87; SI2 0.97; PPI 0.60; ESLI 0.31; male (syntype): HL 0.79; HW 0.73; SL 0.74; AL 1.36 mm; SI1 0.94; SI2 1.01; PPI 0.62; ESLI 0.15.

Etymology

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - from the name Kabylie with the adjectival suffix for nouns ica = belonging to or from, to indicate that it is a resident of Kabylie, a mountainous region of Algeria.

References

Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Cagniant, H. 1970d. Une nouvelle fourmi parasite d'Algérie: Sifolinia kabylica (nov. sp.), Hyménoptères. Formicidae. Myrmicinae. Insectes Soc. 17: 39-47 (page 40, figs. 1-6 queen, male described)
García, F., Cuesta-Segura, A.D., Espadaler, X. 2024. Myrmica babiensis sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a new social parasite from the NW Iberian Peninsula. Annales Zoologici 74(1), 113-127 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2024.74.1.006).
Kutter, H. 1973d. Über die morphologischen Beziehungen der Gattung Myrmica zu ihren Satellitengenera Sifolinia Em., Symbiomyrma Arnoldi und Sommimyrma Menozzi (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 46: 253-268 (page 256, see also (misspelled as cabylica).)
Radchenko, A. G.; Elmes, G. W. 2003a. A taxonomic revision of the socially parasitic Myrmica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Palaearctic region. Ann. Zool. (Warsaw) 53: 217-243 (page 236, see also)
Radchenko, A.G. & Elmes, G.W. 2010. Myrmica ants of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3: 1-789.
Seifert, B. 1994a [1993]. Die freilebenden Ameisenarten Deutschlands (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) und Angaben zu deren Taxonomie und Verbreitung. Abh. Ber. Naturkundemus. Görlitz 67(3): 1-44 (page 16, Combination in Symbiomyrma)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Cagniant H. 1970. Une nouvelle fourmi parasite d'Algérie: Sifolinia kabylica (nov. sp.), Hyménoptères. Formicidae. Myrmicinae. Insectes Sociaux 17: 39-47.
Cagniant, H. "Liste actualisee des fourmis du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8 (2006): 193-200.
Cagniant, H. "Une nouvelle fourmi parasite d'Algérie: Sifolinia kabylica (nov. sp.), Hyménoptères. Formicidae. Myrmicinae." Insectes Sociaux 17 (1970): 39-47.
Cagniant, H. Les peuplements de fourmis des forêts algériennes: écologie, biocénotique, essai biologique. Universite de Toulouse, 1973.
Espadaler, X. "Myrmica cagnianti, a new ant from North Africa." Miscellanea Zoologica 19 (1996): 67-74.
Radchenko A. G., and G. W. Elmes. 2003. A taxonomic revision of the socially parasitic Myrmica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Palaearctic region. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 53: 217-243.
Radchenko A. G., and G. W. Elmes. 2010. Myrmica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 790 pp.