Formica lemani

Collingwood (1979) - This is an abundant upland species in Europe not distinguished from Formica fusca until Bondroit (1917) and first clearly described by Yarrow (1954). It has similar habits to F. fusca but sometimes occurs in large multi-queened colonies in favourable sites such as stony banks. Colony founding is either by single queens or by nest fission. Alatae fly in July and August.

Identification
Greyish to brownish black, legs paler. Short stout hairs present on promesonotum normally numerous but occasionally abraded or few. Underside of mid and hind femora normally with one or more hairs at mid length. Frons coarsely sculptured to that punctures readily seen under ordinary magnification. Length: 4.5-7.0 mm (Collingwood 1979).

Distribution
Mountains of Spain to Japan including Himalayas, Appenines to arctic Fennoscandia (Collingwood 1979).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Biology
Kvifte and Soule (2017) - Lasius flavus and Formica lemani were found in a plesiobiotic association in a heathland in western Norway. The colonies were found in chambers under rocks, with both larvae and pupae of both species present.

This is the first confirmed case of F. lemani in a plesiobiontic relationship with another ant species, providing further evidence for Collingwood’s (1979) claim that the habits of F. lemani are similar to Formica fusca – the most frequently recorded plesiobiont in the Palearctic region (Kaniszai et al., 2013). Workers of Formica lemani and Lasius flavus differ markedly in size and foraging behaviour. Whereas F. lemani is a free-living and active predacious, aphidicolous and nectarivorous species, L. flavus is mostly subterranean and feeds on smaller arthropods and honeydew from root feeding aphids (Collingwood, 1979; Douwes et al., 2012). The resources exploited by each species thus show little overlap, permitting coexistence without competition. This follows the general pattern outlined for plesiobiontic relationships by Kanizsai et al. (2013). Colony sizes of the two species are listed in the literature as a few hundred to a few thousand for F. lemani and up to 100 000 workers for L. flavus (Douwes et al., 2012).

Nomenclature

 *  lemani. Formica lemani Bondroit, 1917b: 186 (w.q.) FRANCE. Bondroit, 1920a: 145 (m.). Combination in F. (Serviformica): Emery, 1925b: 247. Subspecies of fusca: Müller, 1923: 139; Santschi, 1925g: 352; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 107. Revived status as species: Yarrow, 1954a: 231. Senior synonym of borealis: Dlussky, 1965a: 35. See also: Bernard, 1967: 295; Dlussky, 1967a: 60; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 150; Kutter, 1977c: 251; Kupyanskaya, 1990: 184; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 261; Seppä, et al. 2011: 31.
 * borealis. Formica fusca subsp. borealis Vashkevich, 1924b: 147 (w.) RUSSIA. Junior synonym of lemani: Dlussky, 1965a: 35.