Myrmica onoyamai

The nest of this species was found in anthropogenic conditions that were quite exposed, hot and dry compared to general surrounding woodland, and the location may not be typical for this species. It was under a small stone in a pile of sandy gravel dumped by the side of the road, possibly to grit the road in icy conditions, although it had been there some time because its surface was covered in moss and lichens. The road was in a river valley in an area of mixed woodland at an altitude ca. 900 m, about 10 m from the river. We suggested that M. onoyamai living in more natural conditions might be associated with warmer exposed biotopes such as sub-alpine grassland and sandy screes at the base of cliffs. (Radchenko and Elmes 2010)

Identification
M. onoyamai belongs to the schencki species group. Its workers and queens well differ from those of all other members of this group by a distinctly wider frons and by proportionally less extended frontal lobes: in workers mean FI 0.35, mean FLI 1.20 vs. mean FI < 0.33, mean FLI > l.28 in other schencki-group species. The male of M. onoyamai most resembles males of Myrmica koreana, but differs from them by shorter hairs on the head margins, by the much less sculptured, almost smooth scutum and scutellum, by the not angled dorsal plane of the scape and by wider postpetiole. (Radchenko and Elmes 2010)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Japan.

Nomenclature

 *  onoyamai. M yrmica onoyamai Radchenko & Elmes, in Radchenko, Elmes & Alicata, 2006: 507, figs. 23-42 (w.q.m.) JAPAN. See also: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 208.

Type Material
Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Holotype, w, Japan, Yalllamashi Pref., ea 15 km NE of Sudama interchange, nr. Hokuto City, By Shiokawa riv. nr. Shiokawa Dam. c. 900 III No. J-99, 24.vii.2002, leg. G. W. Elmes (London); paratypcs: 64 w, 25 g, 1 m from the nest of the holotype (London, Kiev, Elmes, Helsinki). Unfortunately, in the original description of this species (Radchenko, Elmes and Alicata 2006) we wrongly gave the type locality as "Japan, lsI. Honshu, Nagano Pref., about 11 km E of Matsumoto on road to Tobira pass, ca. 1400 m a.s.l.". This site where we also collected Myrmica samples, is some tens of kilometres from the actual site on Honshu Island where we collected the holotype series.

Etymology
Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - we dedicated this species to the Japanese myrmecologist Prof. Keiichi Onoyama of Obihiro University, Japan.