Proformica nasuta

Distribution
Southern France.

Recent material suggests that this taxon is distributed only in the western part of the Mediterranean basin and thus records from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Macedonia and Romania are based on misidentifications (Borowiec, 2014).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, China, France, Georgia, Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Spain.

Biology
Galkowski et al. (2017) - Localities for P. nasuta can be divided into two subgroups. One is composed of lowland localities that can be close to each other and form an almost continuous distribution in the plain of the Languedoc and the Rhône valley (Montpellier, Sauteyrargues, Pompignan, Grospierres, Collias, Beaucaire, Jonquières, Tarascon, Plaine de la Crau, Aurons and Bonnieux). The other subgroup is composed of localities isolated on the summits of medium-sized mountains (Sumène, Sainte-Baume, Grand Luberon and Montagne de Lure). Beyond ecological differences (mountain vs lowland), the distinction between the two groups is supported by the analysis of morphological characters, DNA and cuticular hydrocarbons. Except for Sumène, individuals from mountain localities have some erect hairs on the mesosoma, whereas hairs are lacking in most lowland individuals.

Queen
Galkowski et al. 2017. Fig. 7. Proformica nasuta Nylander, 1856, queen from colony Beaucaire 1, France. A. Lateral view. B. Dorsal view. C. Head in full face view. Scale bars = 1 mm. Automontage: Claude Lebas.

Male
Galkowski et al. 2017. Fig. 8. Proformica nasuta Nylander, 1856, male from colony Tarascon 1, France. A. Lateral view. B. Head in full face view. C. Genitalia in dorsal view. Scale bars = 1 mm. Automontage: Claude Lebas.

Nomenclature

 *  nasuta. Formica nasuta Nylander, 1856b: 66 (w.) FRANCE. Forel, 1886f: 205 (q.); Ruzsky, 1903b: 304 (m.). Combination in Myrmecocystus: Emery & Forel, 1879: 449; in Formica (Proformica): Ruzsky, 1902d: 13; in Proformica: Emery, 1912f: 100; Ruzsky, 1915a: 433 (footnote); Bondroit, 1918: 40. Senior synonym of aerea: Mayr, 1863: 402; of depilis: Espadaler & Cagniant, 1987: 136. Current subspecies: nominal plus metalica, syrdariana. See also: Emery, 1909b: 201; Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 543; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1928a: 18; Stumper, 1957: 87; Dlussky, 1969a: 224.
 * aerea. Formica aerea Roger, 1859: 237 (w.) GREECE. Junior synonym of nasuta: Mayr, 1863: 402.
 * depilis. Formica (Proformica) nasuta var. depilis Santschi, 1925g: 353 (w.) FRANCE. Raised to species: Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969: 86. Junior synonym of nasuta: Espadaler & Cagniant, 1987: 136.

Worker
Galkowski et al. (2017) - Minor. (n = 89) For each character extreme values and the mean are given in brackets: CW 540‒900 μm; nCH 0‒2 (0.06); nCU 0‒3 (0.18); nTx 0‒6 (0.57); nSc 0‒2 (0.13); nG 0–5 (1); PDG 9‒28 (13.2); GHL 35‒75 μm (45.2); GHL/CW 0.040–0.102 (0.064).

Media and major workers (n = 25) CW 900‒1240 μm; nCH 0‒1 (0.13); nCU 0‒4 (1.13); nTx 0‒7 (1.6); nSc 0‒4 (0.27); nG 0‒7 (2.3); PDG 10‒18 (14.2); GHL 35‒90 μm (60.2); GHL/CW 0.039–0.091 (0.054).

Body uniformly dark brown to black, appendices and mandibles lighter. Erect hairs rare or absent, short when present (GHL/CW < 0.11). Dense pubescence on dorsal surface of first and second gaster tergites (PDG < 29). Profile of mesosoma sinuous. Petiolar scale erect, thick, slightly notched at summit in large workers. Head of minor workers clearly elongate, rectangular (CL/CW > 1.3). Head of media and major workers less elongate (CL/CW 1.1‒1.3), a bit shiny toward occiput, faintly sculptured in anterior part. Clypeus finely striate longitudinally. Mandible with five teeth of increasing size from base to apex.

Queen
Galkowski et al. (2017) - (n = 8) CW 1500–1690 μm (1600); CL 1530–1660 μm (1590); SL 1230–1270 μm (1250); nCH 0–1 (0.2); nCU 2–6 (3.2); nTx 2–19 (11.8); nSc 0–2 (1.2); nG 0–3 (1.6); PDG 9–14 (11.2); GHL 70–90 μm (77.5); MW 1020–1240 μm (1150); ML 2040–2310 μm (2200); ScW 620–860 μm (710); GHL/CW 0.042–0.056 (0.048).

Only ergatoid queens collected. Body brown with a wide orange spot on mesosoma on some specimens. Few and relatively short erect hairs (nG < 10, GHL < 90 μm). Pubescence very dense on the dorsal surface of first and second gaster tergites. Profile of mesosoma similar to that of worker, but mesonotum more domed and propodeum very high. Tegulae absent. Petiolar scale high and wide, distinctly notched at summit. Head as long as wide. Same sculpture as in worker.

Male
Galkowski et al. (2017) - (n = 6) CW 1340–1380 μm (1360); CL 1100–1170 μm (1140); SL 1220–1330 μm (1280); MW 1700–1750 μm (1730); ML 2720–2970 μm (2830); ScW 560–590 μm (580).

Head, mesosoma and scale dark brown, appendices and sometimes gaster lighter. Erect hairs numerous and dense on entire head, mesosoma and petiolar scale, becoming rare on gaster, where restricted to anterior face of first tergite, angled. Pubescence almost lacking on dorsal surface of gaster tergites. Eyes and ocelli prominent. Mandibles reduced, without teeth. Many erect black hairs on extensor profile of anterior and median femurs. Maximal length of these hairs shorter than width of femur. Rare erect white hairs on tibias. Wings well developed, yellowish.

Type Material
Galkowski et al. (2017) - Redescription of P. nasuta  (Nylander, 1856) and designation of the neotype As the type specimen of P. nasuta  is presumably lost, we propose fixation of a neotype from a nest sample collected in Beaucaire, France, terra typica of the species, and matching Nylander’s concept of P. nasuta. The original description (Nylander 1856: 66) is based on a small worker (“ Long. 3 ‒ 3.5 mm ”) with elongated head (“ ... facies producta antice visa subrectangularis... ”). This feature is found exclusively in minor workers. Therefore, a minor worker was selected from Beaucaire, France (colony Beaucaire 1) and designated as the neotype. The neotype is deposited as MNHN-1598 with the labels “FRA, N43.83544 E4.61828, Beaucaire, 9 juillet 2011, leg. R. Blatrix & C. Lebas” and “Néotype Proformica nasuta  (Nylander, 1856), des. Galkowski, Lebas, Wegnez, Lenoir & Blatrix, 2016”. In case of loss or destruction of this specimen, a replacement neotype can be designated from a series of ten other minor workers collected from the same nest and deposited at the. Other workers from the same nest are deposited at the following collections: AT (no. 15557), Lech Borowiec Collection, (Senckenberg Museum of Natural History), (Xavier Espadaler collection), and the collections of the authors. A queen from the same nest and a male from colony Tarascon 1 (a few kilometers away from the type locality) are deposited at MNHN.

Determination Clarifications
It is likely, based on Galkowski et al. 2017, that all reports about P. nasuta through the present were actually of Proformica longipilosa

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
 * AntArea. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://antarea.fr/fourmi/
 * Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
 * 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.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
 * Buren W. F. 1983. Artificial faunal replacement for imported fire ant control. Florida Entomologist 66: 93-100.
 * Cagniant, H. "Étude de fourmis récoltées par le Professeur H. Janetschek dans la Sierra Nevada." Bulletin de la Société d' Histoire naturelle de l' Afrique du Nord 52 (1961): 104-117.
 * Casevitz-Weulersse J., and C. Galkowski. 2009. Liste actualisee des Fourmis de France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 114: 475-510.
 * Collingwood C. A. 1956. Ant hunting in France. Entomologist 89: 106-108.
 * Collingwood C., and A. Prince. 1998. A guide to ants of continental Portugal (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Entomologia. Suplemento 5: 1-49.
 * Collingwood, C. A. "A provisional list of Iberian Formicidae with a key to the worker caste." EOS (Revista española de entomología) Nº LVII (1978): 65-95.
 * Dalla Torre, K. W. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae. Vol. 7. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 1893.
 * Della Santa E. 1995. Fourmis de Provence. Faune Provence 16: 5-37.
 * Du Merle P. 1978. Les peuplements de fourmis et les peuplements d'acridiens du Mont Ventoux II. - Les peuplements de fourmis. Terre Vie 32(1): 161-218.
 * Emery, C. "Beiträge zur Monographie der Formiciden des paläarktischen Faunengebietes. (Hym.) Teil VII. Formica." Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1909 (1909): 179-204.
 * Forel A. 1886. Études myrmécologiques en 1886. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 30: 131-215.
 * Forel A. 1892. Die Ameisenfauna Bulgariens. (Nebst biologischen Beobachtungen.). 305-318.
 * Forel A. 1904. Note sur les fourmis du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences à St. Pétersbourg. Ezheg. Zool. Muz. 8: 368-388.
 * Forel A. 1906. Fourmis d'Asie mineure et de la Dobrudscha récoltées par M. le Dr. Oscar Vogt et Mme Cécile Vogt, Dr. méd. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 50: 187-190.
 * Galkowski C. 2011. Une liste des fourmis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) récoltées dans la région de Grasse, avec la mention dune nouvelle espèce de la faune de France. Bulletin de la Société linnéenne de Provence, 62 : 41-44.
 * Galkowski C., C. Lebas, P. Wegnez, A. Lenoir, and R. Blatrix. 2017. Redescription of Proformica nasuta (Nylander, 1856) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using an integrative approach. European Journal of Taxonomy 290: 1–40.
 * Goetsch, W. "Beiträge zur Biologie spanischer Ameisen." EOS (Revista española de entomología) 18 (1942): 175-241.
 * Gratiashvili N., Barjadze S. 2008. Checklist of the ants (Formicidae Latreille, 1809) of Georgia. Proceedings of the Institute of Zoology (Tbilisi) 23: 130-146.
 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
 * Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, N. N. "Beiträge zur Ameisenfauna Mittelasiens. I. Die Gattung Proformica, Ruzsky 1903." Zoologischer Anzeiger 75 (1928): 7-23.
 * Legakis Collection Database
 * Ma Yonglin, Xin Ming, Song Lingying, He Dahan. 2008. A survey of ants(Hymenoptera:Formicidae) species and distribution in Ningxia. Journal of Agricultural Sciences 29(1): 35-38.
 * Markó B., B. Sipos, S. Csősz, K. Kiss, I. Boros, and L. Gallé. 2006. A comprehensive list of the ants of Romania (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 9: 65-76.
 * Medina, M. "Catálogo provisional de las hormigas de Andalucía." Actas de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural 20 (1891): 95-104.
 * Ran H., and S. Y. Zhou. 2013. Checklist of Chinese Ants: Formicomorph Subfamilies ( Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (III). Journal of Guangxi Normal University : Natural Science Edition 31(1): 104-111.
 * Retana J., and X. Cerdá X. 2000. Patterns of diversity and composition of Mediterranean ground ant communites tracking spatial and temporal variability in the thermal environment. Oecologia 123: 436-444.
 * Ruzsky M. 1902. Contribution to the ant fauna of the Turgai region. Rus. Entomol. Obozr. 2: 232-235.
 * Salgueiro, J. "Variaçao anual em três comunidades de formicídeos da Serra da Estrela. Adiçao de um género novo e de duas espécies novas para portugal." Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología 26 (3-4) (2002): 121-131.
 * 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.
 * Sanllorente O., P. Lorite, F. Ruano, T. Palomeque, and A. Tinaut. 2017. Phylogenetic relationships between the slave-making ants Rossomyrmex and their Proformica hosts in relation to other genera of the ant tribe Formicini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J Zool Syst Evol Res. 1–13.
 * Santschi F. 1925. Fourmis d'Espagne et autres espÃ©ces palÃ©artiques EOS (Revista espaÃ±ola de entomologÃ­a) 1: 339-360.
 * Santschi F. 1926. Travaux scientifiques de l'Armée d'Orient (1916-1918). Fourmis. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 32: 286-293.
 * Santschi, F. "Fourmis d'Espagne et autres espéces paléartiques." EOS (Revista española de entomología) 1 (1925): 339-360.
 * Schmitz H. 1950. Formicidae quaedam a cl. A. Stärcke determinatae, quas in Lusitania collegit. Brotéria Ser. Cienc. Nat. 19: 12-16.
 * Schmitz, H. "Formicidae quaedam a cl. A. Stärcke determinatae, quas in Lusitania collegit." Brotéria, Ciências Naturais 19 (1950): 12-16.
 * Stumper R. 1957. Sur l'éthologie de la fourmi a miel Proformica nasuta Nyl. Bulletin de la Société des Naturalistes Luxembourgeois 60 (1955): 87-97.
 * Tie Ru, and Xu Shengquan. 2004. Variety and distribution of ants in Northwest China. Journal of Ningxia Agricultural College 25(3): 4-9.
 * 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., and F. J. Ortiz. 1988. Introduccion al conocimiento de las hormigas de la provincia de Almeria (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Publicaciones del Instituto de Estudios Almerienses. Boletín (Ciencias) 8: 223-231.
 * Wellenius, O. H. "Entomologische Ergebnisse der finnländischen Kanaren-Expedition 1947-1951. No. 10. Formicidae Insularum Canariensium. Systematik, Ökologie und Verbreitung der Kanarischen Formiciden." Commentationes Biologicae Societas Scienitarum Fennica 15(8) (1955): 1-20.
 * 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.
 * Xin M., Y. Ma, and D. He. 2011. Fauna composition of Formicidae in Ningxia. Journal of Ningxia University (Natural Science Edition) 32(4): 403-412.
 * de Haro, Andrés, and C. A. Collingwood. "Prospección mirmecológica por Extremadura (España) y Sao Brás-Almodovar, Alcácer do Sal, Serra da Estrela (Portugal)." Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Entomologia Suplemento 3(1) (1992): 95-104.