Plagiolepis xene

Plagiolepis xene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Plagiolepidini
Genus:	Plagiolepis
Species:	P. xene
Binomial name
	Plagiolepis xene; Stärcke, 1936 Specimen Labels

This species is a workerless inquiline in the nests of Plagiolepis pygmaea and Plagiolepis sp. (taurica group). 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: 44.1082° to 36.447°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Andorra, Balearic Islands, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Italy (type locality), Montenegro, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine.

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

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.

Castes


.

Nomenclature

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

xene. Plagiolepis xene Stärcke, 1936: 279 (q.) ITALY. Kutter, 1952: 61 (m.). Combination in P. (Paraplagiolepis): Faber, 1969: 65. See also: Bernard, 1967: 278.

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

Description

Worker

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Wingless gyne only. HL: 0.359-0.373 (mean 0.366); HW: 0.333-0.349 (mean 0.341); SL: 0.310-0.317 (mean 0.314); ML: 0.48-0.50. Color. Whole body from bright yellow to yellowish brown, mesosoma often slightly brighter than head and gaster. Head. Longer than wide, oval or trapezoidal, its sides always convex, occipital margin nearly straight or concave. Clypeus shiny, its posterior edge convex, setosity sparse and long, setae from adjacent to subdecumbent. Head smooth and shiny, bearing short, sparse and adjacent setae. Scape reaches beyond the occipital margin, widening upward from ¾ of its length, its surface shiny, with feeble, sparse microreticulation, dense, adjacent microsetae covers its whole surface. The second funicular segment square, the third segment slightly wider than long, not longer than the second segment, fourth segment square only slightly longer than the third segment, the rest of funicular segments slightly to clearly longer than broad. Eyes big, oval, 1.3 times as long as wide. Mesosoma. Elongate, 1.7 times as long as wide. In lateral view scutum and scutellum flat, no metanotal groove only metanotal suture, propodeum softly convex in profile. The whole mesosoma smooth and shiny, bearing sparse, short and appressed micropilosity and anteriorly and on sides with few long, erected setae. Waist and gaster. Petiolar scale thin, short and broad, apex slightly concave, its surface smooth and shiny. Gaster slightly longer than mesosoma, shiny, bearing sparse, appressed hairs, the distance between hairs mostly longer than the length of setae, additionally very long setae occur on posterior margins of all tergites. Legs. Short, surface with appressed pubescence.

References

Bernadou, A., Fourcassié, V., Espadaler, X. 2013. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Andorra. ZooKeys 277, 13–23 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.277.4684).
Bernard, F. 1967a [1968]. Faune de l'Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen. 3. Les fourmis (Hymenoptera Formicidae) d'Europe occidentale et septentrionale. Paris: Masson, 411 pp. (page 278, see also)
Borowiec, L. & Salata, S. 2013. Ants of Greece – additions and corrections (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 24, 335-401.
Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. A monographic review of ants of Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Vol. 1. Introduction and review of all subfamilies except the subfamily Myrmicinae. Part 1: text. Natural History Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum 1: 1-297.
Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Thassos Island, Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 31 (online 2): 1-15 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.6123287).
Borowiec, M.L., Cover, S.P., Rabeling, C. 2021. The evolution of social parasitism in Formica ants revealed by a global phylogeny. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2026029118 (doi:10.1073/pnas.2026029118).
Bracko, G., Wagner, H.C., Schulz, A., Gioahin, E., Maticic, J., Trantnik, A. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10: 10-24.
Buschinger, A. (2009). Social parasitism among ants: a review. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
Catarineu, C., Barberá, G.G., Reyes-López, J.L. 2018. Zoogeography of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Sociobiology 65, 383-396 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v65i3.2822).
Csősz, S., Báthori, F., Gallé, L., Lőrinczi, G., Maák, I., Tartally, A., Kovács, É., Somogyi, A.Á., Markó, B. 2021. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hungary: Survey of ant species with an annotated synonymic inventory. Insects 16;12(1):78 (doi:10.3390/insects12010078).
Csosz, S., Marko, B., Galle, L. 2011. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hungary: an updated checklist. North-Western Journal of Zoology 7: 55-62.
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).
Degueldre, F., Mardulyn, P., Kuhn, A., Pinel, A., Karaman, C., Lebas, C., Schifani, E., Bračko, G., Wagner, H.C., Kiran, K., Borowiec, L., Passera, L., Abril, S., Espadaler, X., Aron, S. 2021. Evolutionary history of inquiline social parasitism in Plagiolepis ants. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 155, 107016 (doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107016).
Espadaler, X.; Cagniant, H. 1992 ("1991"). Plagiolepis xene Stärcke, the first inquiline ant from the Balearic Islands, Spain. Psyche (Cambridge) 98:351-354. [1992-09-04]
Faber, W. 1969. Beiträge zur Kenntnis sozialparasitischer Ameisen. 2. Aporomyrmex ampeloni nov. gen., nov. spec. (Hym. Formicidae), ein neuer permanenter Sozialparasit bei Plagiolepis vindobonensis Lomnicki aus Österreich. Pflanzenschutz Ber. 39: 39-100 (page 65, Combination in P. (Paraplagiolepis))
Jacobs, S. 2020. Population genetic and behavioral aspects of male mating monopolies in Cardiocondyla venustula (Ph.D. thesis).
Kiran, K., Karaman, C. 2020. Additions to the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zoosystema 42(18), 285-329 (doi:10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a18).
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).
Kirschner, P., Seifert, B., Kröll, J., Schlick‐Steiner, B.C., Steiner, F.M. 2023. Phylogenomic inference and demographic model selection suggest peripatric separation of the cryptic steppe ant species Plagiolepis pyrenaica stat. rev. Molecular Ecology 32(5), 1149–1168 (doi:10.1111/mec.16828).
Kutter, H. 1952a. Über Plagiolepis xene Stärcke (Hym., Formicid.). Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 25: 57-72 (page 61, male described)
Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Antonova, V. 2022. An updated checklist of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria, after 130 years of research. Biodiversity Data Journal 10, e95599 (doi:10.3897/bdj.10.e95599).
Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Borowiec, L. 2022. New and little-known ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Bulgaria. Biodiversity Data Journal, 10: e83658 (doi:10.3897/bdj.10.e83658).
Pérez‐Marcos, M., López‐Gallego, E., Arnaldos, M.I., Martínez‐Ibáñez, D., García, M.D. 2020. Formicidae (Hymenoptera) community in corpses at different altitudes in a semiarid wild environment in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Entomological Science 23, 297–310 (doi:10.1111/ENS.12422).
Radchenko, A. G.; Tsyubik, M. M. 1990. On the discovery of a new member of the genus Plagiolepis Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the USSR. [Abstract.] Vestn. Zool. 1: 85 (page 85, Record in Ukraine)
Schifani, E., Csősz, S., Viviano, R., Alicata, A. 2021. Ant diversity on the largest Mediterranean islands: on the presence or absence of 28 species in Sicily (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Natural History Sciences 8, 55–70 (doi:10.4081/nhs.2021.532).
Schifani, E., Nalini, E., Gentile, V., Alamanni, F., Ancona, C., Caria, M., Cillo, D., Bazzato, E. 2021. Ants of Sardinia: An updated checklist based on new faunistic, morphological and biogeographical notes. Redia 104, 21–35 (doi:10.19263/redia-104.21.03).
Schultner, E., Pulliainen, U. 2020. Brood recognition and discrimination in ants. Insectes Sociaux 67, 11–34 (doi:10.1007/s00040-019-00747-3).
Stärcke, A. 1936. Retouches sur quelques fourmis d'Europe. I. Plagiolepis xene nov. sp. et Pl. vindobonensis Lomnicki. Entomol. Ber. (Amst.) 9: 277-279 (page 279, queen described)
Trible, W., Kronauer, D.J.C. 2017. Caste development and evolution in ants: it's all about size. Journal of Experimental Biology 220, 53–62 (doi:10.1242/jeb.145292).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

AntArea. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://antarea.fr/fourmi/
Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
Asociacion Iberica de Mirmecologia. 2015. List of species collected during the Taxomara Lisboa 2015 Iberomyrmex 7: 44-45.
Baroni Urbani C. 1974. Studi sulla mirmecofauna d'Italia. XII. Le Isole Pontine. Fragm. Entomol. 9: 225-252.
Bernadou A., V. Fourcassié, and X. Espadaler. 2013. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Andorra. Zookeys 277: 13-23.
Bernard F. 1967. Faune de l'Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen. 3. Les fourmis (Hymenoptera Formicidae) d'Europe occidentale et septentrionale. Paris: Masson, 411 pp.
Bezdecka P. 1996. The ants of Slovakia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomofauna carpathica 8: 108-114.
Blatrix R., C. Lebas, C. Galkowski, P. Wegnez, P. Pimenta, and D. Morichon. 2016. Vegetation cover and elevation drive diversity and composition of ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Mediterranean ecosystem. – Myrmecological News 22: 119-127.
Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Borowiec L., C. Galkowski, and S. Salata. 2015. What is Tetramorium semilaeve André, 1883? (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 512:39-62.
Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2013. Ants of Greece additions and corrections (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 24(3-4): 335-401.
Bracko G. 2007. Checklist of the ants of Slovenia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Natura Sloveniae 9: 15-24
Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
Bracko, G. 2006. Review of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) of Croatia. Acta Entomologica Slovenica 14(2): 131-156.
Bracko, G. "Review of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Croatia." Acta Entomologica Slovenica Vol 14 st (2006): 131-156.
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.
Casevitz-Weulersse J., and M. Prost. 1991. Fourmis de la Côte-d'Or présentes dans les collections du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Dijon. Bulletin Scientifique de Bourgogne 44: 53-72.
Csősz S., B. Markó, and L. Gallé. 2011. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hungary: an updated checklist. North-Western Journal of Zoology 7: 55-62.
Cuesta-Segura A. D., and F. Garcia garcia. 2012. First inventory of the ants of the province of Burgos (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Iberomyrmex 4: 4.
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
Espadaler, X. and Cagniant, H. Plagiolepis Xene Starcke, The First Inquiline Ant From The Balearic Islands (Spain). Psyche. 98:351-354.
Espadaler, X. and H. Cagniant. 1991. Psyche. 98: 351-354.
Espadaler, X., J. Pujade-Villar, and A. Bernadou. "Contribució al coneixement de la taxonomia i la fenologia de les formigues (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) d'Andorra." Butlletí de l' Institució Catalana d'Història Natural 74 (2006): 81-90.
Espadaler, X., and H. Cagniant. "Plagiolepis xene Starckë, the first inquiline ant from the Balearic Islands (Spain)." Psyche 98 (4) (1992): 351-354.
Espadaler, X., and L. Lopez Soria. "Rareness of certain Mediterranean ant species: fact or artifact?" Insectes Sociaux 38 (1991): 365-377.
Espadaler, X. "Citas nuevas o interesantes de hormigas para España." Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología 3 (1979): 95-101.
Galkowski C. 2011. Une liste des fourmis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) récoltées dans la région de Grasse, avec la mention dune nouvelle espèce de la faune de France. Bulletin de la Société linnéenne de Provence, 62 : 41-44.
Galle L., and G. Szonyi. 1988. A check list of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicoidea) of a sandy grassland in Kiskunsag National Park (Hungary). Acta Biol. Szeged 34: 167-168.
Garcia F., X. Espadaler, and K. Gomez. 2009. First record of Amblyopone impressifrons (Emery, 1869) from the Iberian Peninsula and of Proceratium melinum (Roger, 1860) from Catalonia (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Boletín Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa 45: 357-360.
Garcia Garcia F., and A. D. Cuesta-Esgura. 2017. First catalogue of the ants of Burgos province, Spain (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa 60: 245–258.
Gomez Aval K. 2004. Citas nuevas o interesantes de hormigas (Hymenoptera/ Formicidae) para la Isla de Mallorca (Baleares, Espana). Boln. S.E.A. 34: 107-108.
Gómez, K. "Citas nuevas o interesantes de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para la isla de Mallorca (Baleares, España)." Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa 34 (2004): 107-108.
Hosoishi, S., S. Yamane and K. Ogata. 2010. Subterranean species of the ant genus Crematogaster in Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological Science 13:345-350.
Karaman M. G. 2011. A catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Montenegro. Podgorica: Catalogues 3, Volume 2, Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, 140 pp.
Lebas C., C. Galkowski, P. Wegnez, X. Espadaler, and R. Blatrix. 2015. The exceptional diversity of ants on mount Coronat (Pyrénées-Orientales), and Temnothorax gredosi(Hymenoptera, Formicidae) new to France. R.A.R.E., T. XXIV (1): 24 33
Lenoir A. 1971. Les fourmis de Touraine, leur intérêt biogéographique. Cahiers des Naturalistes 27: 21-30.
Neumeyer R., and B. Seifert. 2005. Commented check list of free living ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) species of Switzerland. Bulletin de la Societe Entomologique Suisse 78: 1-17.
Passera L. 1967. Peuplement en fourmis terricoles du rebord Meridional des Causses jurassiques du Quercy: la lande calcaire a buis. Vie et milieu. Serie C, Biologie terrestre 18(1): 189-205.
Passera, L., M. Gilbert and S. Aron. 2001. Social parasitism in ants: effects of the inquiline parasite Plagiolepis xene St. on queen distribution and worker production of its host Plagiolepis pygmaea Latr. Insectes Sociaux 48:74-79.
Peru L. 1999. Quelques ajouts et corrections a un catalogue des fourmis de la region Centre (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bulletin de l'Entomologie Tourangelles 20(1): 9-12.
Petrov I. Z., and C. A. Collingwood. 1992. Survey of the myrmecofauna (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) of Yugoslavia. Archives of Biological Sciences (Belgrade) 44: 79-91.
Poldi B., M. Mei, and F. Rigato. 1995. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Vol 102. Checklist delle specie della fauna Italiana: 1-10.
Reyes-López J., S. Carpintero-Ortega, and E. Retamoza-Muñoz. 2010. Adiciones a la relación de especies de hormigas (Hym., Formicidae) del Parque Natural del Cabo de Gata- Níjar (Almería, España) Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología 34: 67-76.
Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2018. Taxonomic and faunistic notes on Greek ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-51.
Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2019. Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys 877: 81-131.
Sanchez-Gil Jimeno R., and J. L. Reyes-Lopez. 2016. Study of ants species of the Sierra de San Carlos del Valle (Ciudad Real) and updating the provincial check list (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Boln. Asoc. esp. Ent. 40 (1-2): 93-109.
Scupola A. 1994. Contributo alla mirmecofauna Italiana (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Boll. Mus. Civ. St. Nat. Verona 18: 133-136.
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.
Sommer F., and H. Cagniant. 1988. Peuplements de fourmis des Albères Orientales (Pyrénées-Orientales, France) (Première partie). Vie Milieu 38: 189-200.
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.
Tinaut A. 2016. Ants of the Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Mountains Natural Park (Andalusia, Spain) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Boln. Asoc. esp. Ent., 40 (1-2): 125-159.
Tinaut A., O. Mira, J. M. Vidal, and A. Aguirre-Segura. 2009. The ants of Cabo de Gata (Almería). Faunistics aspects (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Boln. Asoc. esp. Ent., 33 (1-2): 227-251.
Tinaut, A., J. Jiménez Rojas, and R. Pascual. "Estudio de la mirmecofauna de los bosques de Quercus Linneo 1753 de la provincia de Granada." Ecología 8 (1995): 429-438.
del Campo Gracia P., M. D. Martinez Ibanez, A. Tinaut, and S. Montagud Alario. 2014. Faunistic study of the Formicidae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Comunitat Valenciana (Spain). Boln. Asoc. esp. Ent. 38 (1-2): 33-65.