Myrmica kotokui

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Myrmica kotokui
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Myrmicini
Genus: Myrmica
Species: M. kotokui
Binomial name
Myrmica kotokui
Forel, 1911

Myrmica kotokui P casent0907648.jpg

Myrmica kotokui D casent0907648.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms


Common Name
Shiwa-kushike-ari
Language: Japanese

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - M. kotokui is one of the commonest Myrmica species in East Asia, living in various habitats. It prefers different kinds of forests (pine, oak, maple, birch, lime, spruce, fir, larch), it occurs also in shrublands and meadows, but avoids dry places. In Japan on Honshu Island we found it living at altitudes of 1200-2000 m, further north on Hokkaido Island it lived at lower altitudes from sea level to about 1000 m. It builds nests predominantly in the soil, very often under stones, but also constructs soil mounds or nests in decayed wood. In Japan nests were usually found under “Bamboo grass” or in open deciduous forest. In contrast to the closely related Myrmica ruginodis, colonies of M. kotokui are quite polygynous, with population of the nests reaching several thousand workers (Kikuchi et al. 1999). Nuptial night occurs in August to early October.

Mizutani (1981) stated that the populations of dry riverbeds near Sapporo, Japan, are polygynous, while those of mountainous regions are monogynous, and that reproductive methods and head width are different in these two areas. He recognized small-female "microgyna" and large-female "macrogyna" variants. Future study is clearly required (Japanese Ant Image Database).

At a Glance • Limited invasive  

Identification

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - A member of the rubra group that is very difficult to distinguish from Myrmica ruginodis. Female castes differ from M. ruginodis mainly by the shape and sculpture of the petiole: the petiolar node dorsum (seen in profile) is slightly more rounded without a distinct dorsal plate, and the sides of the petiolar node are smoothly sculptured whereas M. ruginodis has coarse longitudinal rugosity (in these respects it more resembles M. rubra). In males of M. kotokui the clypeus is distinctly longitudinally striated while in males of M. ruginodis it is smooth.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Russian Far East, Korean Peninsula, NE China and Japan.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 38.28055556° to 30.359°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Japan (type locality), Republic of Korea, Russian Federation.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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

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 ichneumonid wasp Sp. nov. (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Flight Period

X X X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

 Notes: Japan.

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Flight Month data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Castes

In M. kotokui, winged queens differ in wing size among populations; shorter-winged queens mate near their natal nest, leading to secondary polygyny (Kikuchi & al. 1999).

Nomenclature

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

  • kotokui. Myrmica rubra subsp. kotokui Forel, 1911e: 267 (w.q.m.) JAPAN. Raised to species: Collingwood, 1976: 300. Senior synonym of orientalis: Radchenko, 2005b: 142. See also: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 170.
  • orientalis. Myrmica ruginodis subsp. orientalis Karavaiev, 1926f: 65, fig. 1 (w.) RUSSIA. Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1928b: 37 (q.m.). Subspecies of rubra: Weber, 1947: 450. Raised to species: Kupyanskaya, 1990: 101. Junior synonym of ruginodis: Radchenko, 1994f: 73; of kotokui: Radchenko, 2005b: 142.

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

Description

Etymology

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Forel does not say to whom he dedicated this species. Most probably he had in mind Shusui Kotoku, a well known Japanese socialist, journalist and author, who was hanged six months earlier for treason, on 24th January 1911, and was considered by many to be a martyr for peace and freedom.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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  • Choi B.M., Kim, C.H., Bang, J.R. 1993. Studies on the distribution of ants (Formicidae) in Korea (13). A checklist of ants from each province (Do), with taxonomic notes. Cheongju Sabom Taehakkyo Nonmunjip (Journal of Cheongju National University of Education) 30: 331-380.
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  • Terayama M. 1994. Ants of Okushiri-to Island, Hokkaido. Ari 18: 28-29.
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  • Terayama M., and R. Sonobe. 2002. Ants from the Nasu Imperial Villa, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Flora and fauna of the Tochigi Prefectural Museum research report Nasu Imperial Villa 157-161.
  • Terayama. M. 1994. Ants of Okushiri-to Island, Hokkaido. ARI Reports of the Myrmecologists Society (Japan) 18: 28-29
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  • Yamane S., Y. Harada, and K. Eguchi. 2013. Classification and ecology of ants. Natural history of ants in Southern Kyushu. 200 pages
  • Yamane S.; Ikudome, S.; Terayama, M. 1999. Identification guide to the Aculeata of the Nansei Islands, Japan. Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press, xii + 831 pp. pp138-317.
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