Formica lemani

Identification
Greyish to brownish black, legs paler. Short stout hairs present on promesonotum normally numerous but occasionally abraded or few. Underside of mid and hind femora normally with one or more hairs at mid length. Frons coarsely sculptured to that punctures readily seen under ordinary magnification. Length: 4.5-7.0 mm (Collingwood 1979).

Distribution
Mountains of Spain to Japan including Himalayas, Appenines to arctic Fennoscandia (Collingwood 1979).

This taxon was described from France. It is also found in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Biology
Collingwood (1979) - This is an abundant upland species in Europe not distinguished from Formica fusca until Bondroit (1917) and first clearly described by Yarrow (1954). It has similar habits to F. fusca but sometimes occurs in large multi-queened colonies in favourable sites such as stony banks. Colony founding is either by single queens or by nest fission. Alatae fly in July and August.

Nomenclature

 *  lemani. Formica lemani Bondroit, 1917b: 186 (w.q.) FRANCE. Bondroit, 1920a: 145 (m.). Combination in F. (Serviformica): Emery, 1925b: 247. Subspecies of fusca: Müller, 1923: 139; Santschi, 1925g: 352; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 107. Revived status as species: Yarrow, 1954a: 231. Senior synonym of borealis: Dlussky, 1965a: 35. See also: Bernard, 1967: 295; Dlussky, 1967a: 60; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 150; Kutter, 1977c: 251; Kupyanskaya, 1990: 184; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 261; Seppä, et al. 2011: 31.
 * borealis. Formica fusca subsp. borealis Vashkevich, 1924b: 147 (w.) RUSSIA. Junior synonym of lemani: Dlussky, 1965a: 35.

Additional References

 * [[Media:Bondroit 1917b.pdf|Bondroit, J. 1917b. Diagnoses de trois nouveaux Formica d'Europe (Hym.). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 1917: 186-187 PDF]]


 * Collingwood, C. A. 1979. The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomol. Scand. 8:1-174.