Formica pratensis

Collingwood (1979) - This is the black backed meadow ant characteristic of rough alpine pastures but also common on woodland borders and scrubby heathland throughout lowland Europe and South Fennoscandia. Colonies are isolated single nests with one or very few queens. Jensen (1977) gives population estimates for this species in Denmark of up to 60,000 workers. Nests are smaller than with Formica rufa and other species of this group and nest materials are coarser. A polygynous form with many grouped nests, occurs locally in Germany and the Netherlands, often in shaded woodland, but has not been recorded from Denmark or Fennoscandia. Brood development begins later in the spring with sexuals normally appearing in July.

Identification
Bicoloured with gaster, occiput and frons matt black, not shining; gaster more or less thickly pubescent. Black patch on promesonotum variable but in typical specimens clearly demarcated. Eyes thickly haired; occiput with short to medium length fringing hairs, sometimes reduced to very few. Antennal scapes without protruding hairs. Femora and tibiae fringed with hairs on extensor surfaces. Length; 4.5-9.5mm (Collingwood 1979).

Distribution
Portugal to Siberia. Central Italy to Central Sweden and the Russian Federation.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Channel Islands, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Foraging/Diet
Formica pratensis collect honeydew.

Novgorodova (2015b) investigated ant-aphid interactions of a dozen honeydew collecting ant species in Western Siberia pine and aspen-birch-pine forests (54°7´N, 83°06´E, 200 m, Novosibirsk) and mixed-grass-cereal steppes with aspen-birch groves (53°44´N, 78°02´E, 110 m, near Karasuk) in the Novosibirsk Region and coniferous forests in the northeastern Altai (north end of Lake Teletskoe, 51°48´N, 87°17´E, 434 m). All of the ants studied had workers that showed high fidelity to attending particular aphid colonies, i.e, individual ants tend to return to the same location, and group of aphids, every time they leave the nest. F. pratensis' honeydew collecting activities also showed some other specialization. During the summer months when the aphids and ants were most active, individual foragers tended to specialize on collecting honeydew or guarding, i.e. protecting aphids from competitors. During cooler months when aphids were still active foragers showed no specialization. F. pratensis tended: Symydobius oblongus (Heyden) and Chaitophorus populeti (Panzer) and Aphis jacobaeae Schrank.

Fungi
This species is a host for the ectoparastic fungus Aegeritella superficialis (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Nomenclature

 *  pratensis. Formica pratensis Retzius, 1783: 75 (w.) no locality given. Forel, 1874: 52 (q.m.). Subspecies of rufa: Forel, 1874: 52; Forel, 1892i: 307; Ruzsky, 1905b: 337; Emery, 1909b: 186; Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 428; Forel, 1915d: 57; Emery, 1916b: 256; Emery, 1925b: 254; Ruzsky, 1925b: 43; Karavaiev, 1929b: 217; Stitz, 1939: 341; Gösswald, 1941: 81; Holgersen, 1942: 13. Status as species: André, 1882b: 184; Nasonov, 1889: 17; Ruzsky, 1902d: 10; Bondroit, 1912: 352; Donisthorpe, 1915d: 267; Bondroit, 1917a: 174; Müller, 1923: 142; Ruzsky, 1926: 110; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 105; Boven, 1947: 188; Yarrow, 1955a: 4; Kutter, 1965: 140; Dlussky, 1967a: 84; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 177; Tarbinsky, 1976: 194; Kutter, 1977c: 272; Collingwood, 1979: 152; Gösswald, 1989: 19; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 272; Seifert, 1992a: 225. Senior synonym of nigricans (and its junior synonyms cordieri, pratensoides, thyssei): Dlussky, 1967a: 84; Kutter, 1977c: 272; Seifert, 1992a: 225; of ciliata: Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 177; Seifert, 1992a: 225; of grouvellei: Seifert, 1996a: 200. Current subspecies: nominal plus nuda, staerckei.
 * pratensoides. Formica minor subsp. pratensoides Gösswald, 1951: 436 (w.q.m.) GERMANY. Junior synonym of nigricans: Yarrow, 1955a: 4. [Revived from synonymy: Gösswald, 1989: 20; returned to synonymy: Bolton, 1995b: 201.]
 * nigricans. Formica pratensis var. nigricans Bondroit, 1912: 352 (w.) SPAIN. [First available use of Formica rufa subsp. pratensis var. nigricans Emery, 1909b: 187; unavailable name.] Subspecies of pratensis: Novak & Sadil, 1941: 105; Boven, 1947: 189. Raised to species: Yarrow, 1955a: 4. Status as species: Betrem, 1960b: 77; Bernard, 1967: 314; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 220; Paraschivescu, 1972: 534; Collingwood, 1979: 153. Senior synonym of pratensoides, thyssei: Yarrow, 1955a: 4; of cordieri: Betrem, 1962: 38; Kutter, 1965: 140. Junior synonym of pratensis: Dlussky, 1967a: 84; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 177; Kutter, 1977c: 272; Seifert, 1992a: 225.
 * cordieri. Formica pratensis var. cordieri Bondroit, 1917a: 174 (diagnosis in key) (q.) FRANCE. Raised to species: Betrem, 1960b: 77. Junior synonym of nigricans: Betrem, 1962: 38; Kutter, 1965: 140.
 * grouvellei. Formica rufa var. grouvellei Bondroit, 1918: 60 (q.) FRANCE. Junior synonym of pratensis: Seifert, 1996a: 200.
 * ciliata. Formica pratensis var. ciliata Ruzsky, 1926: 110 (w.q.) RUSSIA. [First available use of Formica rufa subsp. pratensis var. ciliata Ruzsky, 1915b: 7; unavailable name.] [Unresolved junior primary homonym of ciliata Mayr, above.] Junior synonym of pratensis: Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 177.