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Proformica oculatissima
| Proformica oculatissima | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Formicini |
| Genus: | Proformica |
| Species: | P. oculatissima |
| Binomial name | |
| Proformica oculatissima (Forel, 1886)
| |
Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 38.08178° to 35.255189°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Greece (type locality), North Macedonia.
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
Images from AntWeb
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| Syntype of Proformica oculatissima. Male (alate). Specimen code casent0911064. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- oculatissima. Formica oculatissima Forel, 1886e: clxii (m.) GREECE. Combination in F. (Proformica): Emery, 1909b: 203; in Proformica: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 61.
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) - Large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 0.817-1.214 (mean 0.983); HW: 0,492-0.952 (mean 0.697); SL: 0.730-1.024 (mean 0.878); EL: 0.219-0.325 (mean 0.278); ML: 1.19-1.64; MW: 0.48-0.77. Color. Head, mesosoma, petiolar scale and gaster dark brown to black, gena usually as dark colored as other parts of head, antennae yellow, apical 5-6 antennomeres often indistinctly infuscated, coxa dark brown, femora mostly dark brown with yellowish apex, tibiae yellowish brown to brown, gradually paler from distal part to apex, tarsi yellow. Head. 1.2-1.7 times longer than wide, in front of eyes parallelsided, behind eyes regularly rounded, occipital margin convex. Clypeus on the whole surface with distinct longitudinal striation, slightly trapezoidal, its anterior margin convex, sides convergent posterad, posterior margin truncate in the middle, whole clypeal surface with sparse and short appressed hairs, a row of 5 long setae close to anterior margin and a pair of erected setae close to posterior margin, the longest anterior seta with length 0.175. Head with diffused microreticulation , frontal area without longitudinal striation or only frons with diffused striation, whole surface with very sparse and short appressed pubescence, erected setae absent or only the largest minor workers in frontal area with 3-4 and in ocellar area with 1-2 very short erected setae, gena and ventral side of head lacking erected setae or only in the largest minor workers gular area with a pair of erected setae. Scape very long, 1.1-1.6 times longer than width of head, thin, distinctly reaching beyond the occipital margin, distinctly, regularly widened from 2/3 of its length, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with short and sparse appressed pubescence. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment 3.4 times as long as wide, 2.3 times as long as long as second segment; the second funicular segment 1.5 times as long as wide, as long as or only slightly shorter than third segment, the rest of funicular segments clearly longer than broad. Eyes big, elongate oval, 1.3-1.5 times longer than wide, 0.28 length of head. Mandibles long, with longitudinal sculpture but shiny, with large apical dent and four smaller denticles on masticatory margin. Mesosoma. Elongate, in dorsal view distinctly constricted in the middle, 2.1-2.6 times as long as wide, dorsally and laterally with indistinctly diffused microreticulation, surface indistinctly shiny. In lateral view pronotum convex, metanotum and propodeum continuous with moderately deep mesonotal groove. Whole mesosomal surface covered with very short and sparse appressed pubescence, pronotum with up to 4 erected setae, occasionally in the largest minor workers to 6 setae, mesonotum and propodeum usually with 2 erected setae, occasionally 3 or without setae. Waist and gaster. Petiolar scale thick in lateral view but broad in anterior view, apex truncate or shallowly concave, without or with 1-2 short setae laterally. Gaster longer than mesosoma, first tergite with diffused microreticulation, subsequent tergites with mixed microreticulation and diffused transverse microstriation, surface shiny, covered with short and sparse appressed pubescence, distance between hairs as large as 2/3 to whole their length. First and second gastral tergite lacking erected setae except row of moderately long setae close to posterior margin or occasionally with a pair of short setae centrally, third gastral segment across the middle with 2-4short erected setae. Legs. Ventral surface of fore femora with 4-5, of mid and hind femora with 1-2 erected setae.
Major workers HL: 1.349-1.413 (mean 1.378); HW: 1.190-1.294 (mean 1.235); SL: 1.111-1.190 (mean 1.153); EL: 0.368-0.413 (mean 0.387); ML: 1.84-1.90; MW: 0.89-0.94. Color. Head, meso- and metanotum, petiolar scale yellowish brown to brown, gaster brown, antennae and legs yellowish, femora often obscured in the middle on mostly yellowish brown with yellow apex, often distal antennomeres indistinctly infuscated. Head. Approximately 1.1 times longer than wide, in front of eyes parallelsided, behind eyes regularly rounded, occipital margin straight. Clypeus on the whole surface with distinct longitudinal striation, slightly trapezoidal, its anterior margin convex, sides convergent posterad, posterior margin truncate in the middle, whole clypeal surface with sparse and short appressed hairs, a row of 5 long setae close to anterior margin, without or with a pair of erected setae close to posterior margin, the longest anterior seta with length 0.320. Head with micropunctation between punctures, without distinct microstriation in interantennal and interocular area, with very sparse and short appressed pubescence, with 1-3 short erected setae in interocular and ocellar areas, without setae in occipital part of head and on ventral side of head or with 1-2 very short setae in gular area. Scape short, approximately 0.94 times as long as width of head, thin, distinctly reaching beyond the occipital margin, distinctly, regularly widened from 2/3 of its length, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with short and sparse appressed pubescence. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment 2.1 times as long as second, the second funicular segment 1.3 times as long as wide, only slightly shorter than third segment, the rest of funicular segments longer than broad but less clearly as in minor worker. Eyes big, elongate oval, approximately 1.5 times longer than wide, 0.28 length of head. Mandibles broad, with longitudinal sculpture but shiny, with large, blunt apical dent and 4 smaller, blunt denticles on masticatory margin. Mesosoma. Elongate, in dorsal view distinctly constricted in the middle, approximately twice as long as wide, In lateral view pronotum convex, its surface mostly micropunctate with smooth and shiny interspaces, mesonotum at top micropunctate with shiny interspaces, on sides microreticulate and slightly dull, propodeum microreticulate and slightly dull, mesonotal groove deep. Whole mesosoma surface covered with moderately long, on top sparse and on sides moderately dense appressed pubescence; pronotum with 2-8 moderately long, mesonotum 3-5 short and propodeum 1-3 short erected setae. Waist and gaster. Petiolar scale thin in lateral view but broad in anterior view, widest in the middle then narrowed to base and apex, apical margin triangularly emarginate, apicolaterally with two short setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, slightly globular, first tergite micropunctate with diffused microreticulation, subsequent tergites micropunctate with more evident microreticulation but without transverse microstriation, surface shiny, covered with moderately long and moderately dense appressed pubescence, distance between hairs as large as 1/5-1/3 their length. First and second gastral tergite without or at most with 2 very short erected setae centrally and a row of short setae close to posterior margin, third gastral segment with 4 short setae across the middle with a row of few short setae close to posterior margin. Legs. Ventral surface of fore femora with 4-6, of mid and hind femora with 0-1 erected setae.
References
- Agosti, D.; Collingwood, C. A. 1987a. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 60: 51-62 (page 61, Combination in Proformica)
- 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.
- Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
- Emery, C. 1909b. Beiträge zur Monographie der Formiciden des paläarktischen Faunengebietes. (Hym.) Teil VII. Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 1909: 179-204 (page 203, Combination in F. (Proformica))
- Forel, A. 1886c. Diagnoses provisoires de quelques espèces nouvelles de fourmis de Madagascar, récoltées par M. Grandidier. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 30:ci-cvii. (page clxii, male described)
- Lebas, C., Galkowsi, C. 2019. Notes sur le genre Proformica Ruzsky, 1902 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): redécouverte en Grèce de Proformica oculatissima (Forel, 1886). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux, 154, nouv. série n° 47 (3/4), 293-298.
- Lebas, C., Galkowski, C., Lenoir, A., Perdereau, E. 2023. Description of Proformica borowieci sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a new species of the genus Proformica Ruzsky, 1902 from Greece. Annales Zoologici 73(3), 569-580 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2023.73.3.017).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
- 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
- Forel, A. "Nouvelles fourmis de Grèce récoltées par M. E. von Oertzen." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 30 (1886): clix-clxviii.
- 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.
- Wheeler W. M. 1913. A revision of the ants of the genus Formica (Linné) Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 53: 379-565.