Temnothorax stumperi

Temnothorax stumperi
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Temnothorax
Species:	T. stumperi
Binomial name
Temnothorax stumperi (Kutter, 1950) Specimen Labels

This dulotic species is known to enslave Temnothorax nigriceps, Temnothorax tuberum and Temnothorax unifasciatus (Seifert, 2018; Báthori et al., 2024). It is a montane species, with relatively isolated populations in the Alps (Austria, Northern Italy, and Switzerland) and the mountains of Turkiye. It is also known from Peloponnese (Greece) and Pyrenees (Spain).

At a Glance

• Dulotic  • Diploid male

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 46.183333° to 41.65°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: France, Switzerland (type locality), Türkiye.

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

Life History Traits

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

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Epimyrma stumperi. Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0907577. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MZL, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Male

Diploid males are known to occur in this species (Fisher (1987), in Loiselle et al., 1990; Cournault & Aron, 2009).

Nomenclature

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

• stumperi. Epimyrma stumperi Kutter, 1950b: 340, figs. 4-7 (m.) SWITZERLAND. Combination in Myrmoxenus: Schulz & Sanetra, 2002: 162. Kutter, 1951: 153 (w.q.); in Temnothorax: Ward et al., 2014: 15. See also: Stumper & Kutter, 1951: 983; Kutter, 1973e: 281.

Type Material

• Báthori et al. (2024) - One syntype gyne of Epimyrma stumperi was investigated from Switzerland: Flawil, VIII.1950 (1-ZML, CASENT0907577).

Description

Karyotype

• See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• n = 10 (France; Switzerland) (Buschinger et al., 1986; Fischer, 1987) (as Epimyrma stumperi).

References

• Báthori, F., Seifert, B., Heinze, J., Kiran, K., Karaman, C., Csősz, S. 2024. Taxonomy of the Palearctic socially parasitic Temnothorax (Myrmoxenus) ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PLOS ONE, 19(10), e0308712 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0308712).
• Buschinger, A. 1989a. Evolution, speciation, and inbreeding in the parasitic ant genus Epimyrma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 2: 265-283.
• Buschinger, A.; Ehrhardt, W.; Fischer, K. 1981. Doronomyrmex pacis, Epimyrma stumperi und E. goesswaldi (Hym., Formicidae) neu für Frankreich. Insectes Sociaux 28:67-70. [1981-03]
• Cournault, L., Aron, S. 2009. Diploid males, diploid sperm production, and triploid females in the ant Tapinoma erraticum. Naturwissenschaften 96: 1393–1400 (doi:10.1007/s00114-009-0590-1).
• Kiran, K., Karaman, C. 2020. Additions to the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zoosystema 42(18), 285-329 (doi:10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a18).
• Kutter, H. 1950b. Über zwei neue Ameisen. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 23: 337-346 (page 340, figs. 4-7 male described)
• Kutter, H. 1951. Epimyrma Stumperi Kutter (Hym. Formicid.). 2. Mitteilung. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 24: 153-174 (page 153, worker, queen described)
• Kutter, H. 1973f. Beitrag zur Lösung taxonomischer Probleme in der Gattung Epimyrma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 46: 281-289 (page 281, see also)
• Loiselle, R., Francoeur, A., Fischer, K., Buschinger, A. 1990. Variations and taxonomic significance of the chromosome numbers in the nearctic species of the genus Leptothorax (s.s.)(Formicidae: Hymenoptera). Caryologia 43:321–334.
• 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).
• Schulz, A.; Sanetra, M. 2002. Notes on the socially parasitic ants of Turkey and the synonymy of Epimyrma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Entomofauna 23(14): 157-172 (page 162, Combination in Myrmoxenus)
• Stumper, R.; Kutter, H. 1951. Sur l'éthologie du nouveau myrmécobionte Epimyrma Stumperi (nov. spec. Kutter). C. R. Séances Acad. Sci. 233: 983-985 (page 983, see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• 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.
• Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Buschinger A. 1985. New records of rare parasitic ants (Hym., Form.) in the French Alps. Insectes Sociaux 32(3): 321-324.
• Buschinger A. 1999. Bemerkenswerte ameisenfunde aus Sudtirol (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 3: 1-8.
• Buschinger, A., W. Ehrhardt, and K. Fischer. "Doronomyrmex pacis, Epimyrma stumperi und E. goesswaldi (Hym., Formicidae) neu für Frankreich." Insectes Sociaux 28 (1981): 67-70.
• Casevitz-Weulersse J., and C. Galkowski. 2009. Liste actualisee des Fourmis de France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 114: 475-510.
• Heinze J., A. Buschinger, T. Poettinger, M. Suefuji. 2015. Multiple convergent Origins of workerlessness and inbreeding in the socially parasitic ant genus Myrmoxenus. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0131023. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0131023
• Mei M. 1992. A survey of the socially parasitic ant genera Epimyrma Emery, 1915 and Chalepoxenus Menozzi, 1922 in Italy (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae). Insectes Sociaux. 39: 145-156.
• 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.
• Schulz, A., and M. Sanetra. "Notes on the socially parasitic ants of Turkey and the synonymy of Epimyrma (Hymenoptera: Formcidae)." Entomofauna, Zeitschrift für Entomologie 23 (14) (2002): 157-172.
• 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.