Formicoxenus hirticornis

This ant is a guest or xenobiont in the nests of, , (based on MCZC specimens) and possibly.

Identification
The eyes have several erect hairs and the clypeus of the worker is weakly depressed in the middle near the anterior border of the clypeus, and is without a medial carina, although several poorly developed lateral carinae are present. The propodeal spines are well developed, and thickened throughout. The anterior face of the petiole meets the dorsum in an angle, the posterior face is convex and rounded. The dorsum of the postpetiole is completely covered with punctures. The mesosoma has dense punctures. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Distribution
North and South Dakota, south to Colorado, west to California.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: Canada, United States.

Habitat
Pine forest

Nomenclature

 * . Leptothorax (Leptothorax) hirticornis Emery, 1895c: 319 (w.) U.S.A. (South Dakota).
 * Type-material: holotype worker.
 * Type-locality: U.S.A.: South Dakota, Hill City (T. Ulke ?).
 * [Note: Emery, 1895c: 319, originally gave the type-locality as “Washington D.C. (Pergande)”; however, Smith, M.R. 1939c: 179, cited “Hill City, S. Dak.(ota) (Titus Ulke ?)”, a change accepted by Francoeur, Loiselle & Buschinger, 1985: 382.]
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * Smith, M.R. 1939c: 176 (q. ergatoid); Snelling, R.R. 1965a: 18 (q. ergatoid m.).
 * Combination in L. (Mychothorax): Ruzsky, 1905b: 622; Emery, 1924d: 262;
 * combination in Mychothorax: Ruzsky, 1936: 96;
 * combination in Formicoxenus: Buschinger, 1979a: 61.
 * Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1903c: 224; Ruzsky, 1905b: 622; Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 566; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 515; Emery, 1924d: 262; Kiseleva, 1925: 74; Ruzsky, 1936: 96; Smith, M.R. 1939c: 177 (redescription); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, E.W. 1944: 248; Creighton, 1950a: 278; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 822; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 134; Snelling, R.R. 1965a: 16; Smith, M.R. 1967: 360; Yensen, et al. 1977: 183; Buschinger, 1979a: 61; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1397; Buschinger, 1981: 213; Allred, 1982: 484; Francoeur, Loiselle & Buschinger, 1985: 382 (redescription); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 51 (in key) ; Wheeler, G.C., et al. 1994: 302; Bolton. 1995b: 207; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 103; Coovert, 2005: 80.
 * Senior synonym of formidolosus: Smith, M.R. 1939c: 177; Creighton, 1950a: 278; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1397; Francoeur, Loiselle & Buschinger, 1985: 382; Bolton, 1995b: 207.
 * Distribution: U.S.A.
 * formidolosus. Leptothorax (Mychothorax) hirticornis var. formidolosus Wheeler, W.M. 1915b: 415 (w.q.) U.S.A. (Colorado).
 * Type-material: 5 syntype workers, 1 syntype ergatoid queen.
 * Type-locality: U.S.A.: Colorado, Flagstaff Mt, nr Boulder (T.D.A. Cockerell).
 * Type-depository: AMNH.
 * Subspecies of hirticornis: Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 515; Emery, 1924d: 262; Cole, 1936a: 36; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, E.W. 1944: 248.
 * Junior synonym of hirticornis: Smith, M.R. 1939c: 177; Creighton, 1950a: 278; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1397; Francoeur, Loiselle & Buschinger, 1985: 382; Bolton, 1995b: 207.

Type Material
Wheeler (1903) - Washington D.C. (Pergande). Described from a single specimen in the collection of Prof. Emery.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Allred D. M. 1982. Ants of Utah. The Great Basin Naturalist 42: 415-511.
 * Allred, D.M. 1982. The ants of Utah. Great Basin Naturalist 42:415-511.
 * Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's Thesis Purdue university, 385 pages.
 * Clark W. H., and P. E. Blom. 2007. Annotated Checklist of the Ants on the Idaho National Laboratory (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 49(2): 1-117.
 * Cole A. C., Jr. 1942. The ants of Utah. American Midland Naturalist 28: 358-388.
 * Cole, A.C. 1936. An annotated list of the ants of Idaho (Hymenoptera; Formicidae). Canadian Entomologist 68(2):34-39
 * Glasier J. R. N., S. E. Nielsen, J. Acorn, and J. Pinzon. 2019. Boreal sand hills are areas of high diversity for Boreal ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Diversity 11, 22; doi:10.3390/d11020022.
 * Glasier J. R. N., S. Nielsen, J. H. Acorn, L. H. Borysenko, and T. Radtke. 2016. A checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Saskatchewan. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 130(1): 40-48.
 * Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
 * Kannowski P. B. 1956. The ants of Ramsey County, North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist 56(1): 168-185.
 * Mackay, W., and E. Mackay. The ants of New Mexico. The Edwin Mellen Press, 2002.
 * Smith M. R. 1952. On the collection of ants made by Titus Ulke in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the early nineties. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 60: 55-63.
 * Snelling R. R. 1965. Studies on California ants. 1. Leptothorax hirticornis Emery, a new host and descriptions of the female and ergatoid male (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 64: 16-21.
 * Talbot M. 1976. A list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Edwin S. George Reserve, Livingston County, Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 8: 245-246.
 * Wheeler G. C., J. N. Wheeler, and P. B. Kannowski. 1994. Checklist of the ants of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The Great Lakes Entomologist 26(4): 297-310
 * Wheeler G. C., and E. W. Wheeler. 1944. Ants of North Dakota. North Dakota Historical Quarterly 11:231-271.
 * Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1987. A Checklist of the Ants of South Dakota. Prairie Nat. 19(3): 199-208.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1903. A revision of the North American ants of the genus Leptothorax Mayr. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 55: 215-260.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1917. The mountain ants of western North America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 52: 457-569.
 * Wheeler, G.C., J. Wheeler and P.B. Kannowski. 1994. CHECKLIST OF THE ANTS OF MICHIGAN (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). Great Lakes Entomologist 26:1:297-310
 * Yensen, N.P., W.H. Clark and A. Francoeur. 1977. A checklist of Idaho Ants. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 53:181-187