Formica moki

Usually nests under stones in open woods; sometimes under sidewalks or along the sides of buildings. May become a pest by foraging in houses or by tending aphids on cultivated plants. Fierce and aggressive.

Distribution
Northwestern comer of Arizona, southern Nevada, California north to Oregon, and south to Mexico.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States. Neotropical Region: Mexico.

Biology
Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) - Our 8 records from 5 localities are all from the southern part of the state and all in the Pinyon-Juniper Biome. One nest was in the ends of a rotten log (8 cm in diameter) lying on the ground, 3 were under stones, and I was in the slightly decayed buried portion of a log 15 cm in diameter. We noted that the workers were fast and aggressive, that the bite was annoying and that a populous colony produced an invisible cloud of formic acid over a disturbed nest.

Other Ants
Nests of this species occasionally host, although the nature of the relationship is unknown (Mann, 1911).

Nomenclature

 *  moki. Formica moki Wheeler, W.M. 1906d: 343 (w.) U.S.A. Cole, 1966: 25 (m.). Combination in F. (Neoformica): Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 558. Junior synonym of occidua: Francoeur, 1973: 254. [Note that moki has seniority over occidua and hence is the valid name; see Smith, D.R. 1979: 1453.] See also: Smith, M.R. 1939f: 582.
 * occidua. Formica rufibarbis var. occidua Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 517 (w.q.) U.S.A. [F. rufibarbis var. occidua Wheeler, W.M. 1912c: 90. Nomen nudum.] Subspecies of rufibarbis: Creighton, 1950a: 539. Raised to species and stated as senior synonym of moki: Francoeur, 1973: 254 [the latter has priority and hence is the valid name: Smith, D.R. 1979: 1453].

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Boulton A. M., Davies K. F. and Ward P. S. 2005. Species richness, abundance, and composition of ground-dwelling ants in northern California grasslands: role of plants, soil, and grazing. Environmental Entomology 34: 96-104
 * Cole A. C., Jr. 1942. The ants of Utah. American Midland Naturalist 28: 358-388.
 * Cover S. P., and R. A. Johnson. 20011. Checklist of Arizona Ants. Downloaded on January 7th at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/AZants-2011%20updatev2.pdf
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Des Lauriers J., and D. Ikeda. 2017. The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California, USA with an annotated list. In: Reynolds R. E. (Ed.) Desert Studies Symposium. California State University Desert Studies Consortium, 342 pp. Pages 264-277.
 * Fisher B. L. 1997. A comparison of ant assemblages (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on serpentine and non-serpentine soils in northern California. Insectes Sociaux 44: 23-33
 * Francoeur A., and R. R. Snelling. 1979. Notes for a revision of the ant genus Formica. 2. Reidentifications for some specimens from the T. W. Cook collection and new distribution data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contr. Sci. (Los Angel.) 309: 1-7.
 * Francoeur. A. 1973. Revision taxonomique des especes nearctiques du group fusca, genre Formica. Memoires de la Societe Entomologique du Quebec 3: 1-316.
 * Holway D.A. 1998. Effect of Argentine ant invasions on ground-dwelling arthropods in northern California riparian woodlands. Oecologia. 116: 252-258
 * Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
 * Johnson, R.A. and P.S. Ward. 2002. Biogeography and endemism of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Baja California, Mexico: a first overview. Journal of Biogeography 29:10091026/
 * La Rivers I. 1968. A first listing of the ants of Nevada. Biological Society of Nevada, Occasional Papers 17: 1-12.
 * Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
 * Mallis A. 1941. A list of the ants of California with notes on their habits and distribution. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 40: 61-100.
 * Matsuda T., G. Turschak, C. Brehme, C. Rochester, M. Mitrovich, and R. Fisher. 2011. Effects of Large-Scale Wildfires on Ground Foraging Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Southern California. Environmental Entomology 40(2): 204-216.
 * Ratchford, J.S., S.E. Wittman, E.S. Jules, A.M. Ellison, N.J. Gotelli and N.J. Sanders. 2005. The effects of fire, local environment and time on ant assemblages in fens and forests. Diversity and Distributions 11:487-497.
 * Reddell J. R., and J. C. Cokendolpher. 2001. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from caves of Belize, Mexico, and California and Texas (U.S.A.) Texas. Texas Memorial Museum Speleological Monographs 5: 129-154.
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Ward P. S. 1987. Distribution of the introduced Argentine ant (Iridomyrmex humilis) in natural habitats of the lower Sacramento Valley and its effects on the indigenous ant fauna. Hilgardia 55: 1-16
 * Wetterer, J. K.; Ward, P. S.; Wetterer, A. L.; Longino, J. T.; Trager, J. C.; Miller, S. E. 2000. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Santa Cruz Island, California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 99:25-31.
 * Wetterer, J.K., P.S. Ward, A.L. Wetterer, J.T. Longino, J.C. Trager and S.E. Miller. 2000. Ants (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) of Santa Cruz Island, California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Science 99(1):25-31.
 * Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, vii + 138 pp.
 * 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.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1917. The mountain ants of western North America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 52: 457-569.
 * Wittman S. E., N. J. Sanders, A. M. Ellison, E. S. Jules, J. S. Ratchford, and N. J. Gotelli. Forthcoming. Species interactions and thermal constraints on ant community structure. Oikos 119.