Lasius morisitai

Little is known about this rare species. Nuptial flights take place during July (Japanese Ant Image Database).

Identification
Radchenko (2005) - Workers most resemble Lasius capitatus, differing from them mainly by the wider, transverse head and by the absence of subdecumbent hairs on the antennal scape; they are also similar to Lasius fuji and differ from the latter by the wider head, shorter standing hairs on the alitrunk dorsum and somewhat thinner petiolar scale. However, queens of L. morisitai well differ from those of L. fuji by the very sparse decumbent pubescence of the body and much shorter and less abundant standing hairs on the alitrunk dorsum.

Distribution
Radchenko (2005) - Southern part of Russian Far East (Primorsky Region, Ussuriysky Natural Reserve), Korean Peninsula, Japan (central Honshu).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation.

Nomenclature

 *  morisitai. Lasius (Dendrolasius) morisitai Yamauchi, 1979: 176, fig. 7 (w.q.m.) JAPAN. See also: Kupyanskaya, 1989: 788; Radchenko, 2005a: 90.

Worker
Radchenko (2005) – Petiolar scale (seen in profile) relatively thin, though not flattened at the top, approximately inversely V-shaped; when seen in front or from behind, it is only slightly narrowing to the dorsal crest; head shorter than broad (CI ≥ 1.04), with convex sides, gradually and slightly narrowing anteriorly, and with distinctly emarginate occipital margin; scape, mid and hind tibiae not flattened, elliptical in cross-section; ratio of min/max diameters of the scape > 0.7; scape and legs with decumbent pilosity only, without standing hairs; promesonotal dorsum and occipital margin with abundant, quite short standing hairs.

Queen
Radchenko (2005) – Petiolar scale (seen in profile) is relatively thin, though not flattens at the top; head with convex sides, gradually and slightly narrowing anteriorly, and with shallowly emarginate occipital margin; scape, mid and hind tibiae not flattened, elliptical in cross-section; ratio of min/max diameters of the scape > 0.7; legs and scape with dense decumbent pubescence only; head, alitrunk and gaster with very sparse short standing hairs, and with extremely short and sparse decumbent pubescence, appears shiny.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Minato M., T. Kameyama, F. Ito, and T. Itino. 1996. A preliminary report of ant fauna in Gagawa Prefecture. Ari 20: 9-13.
 * Park, Seong, Joon and Byung, and Kim, Jin. 2002. Faunal Comparison of Ants among Cheongsando and Other Islands of South Sea in Korea. Korean Jornal of Entomology. 32(1):7-12.
 * Radchenko A. 2005. A review of the ants of the genus Lasius Fabricius, 1804, subgenus Dendrolasius Ruzsky, 1912 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from east Palaearctic. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 55: 83-94.
 * Radchenko, A. 2005. Monographic revision of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of North Korea. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 55: 127-221.
 * Radchenko, A. 2005. Monographic revision of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of North Korea. Annales Zoologici 55(2): 127-221.
 * Terayama M., S. Kubota, and K. Eguchi. 2014. Encyclopedia of Japanese ants. Asakura Shoten: Tokyo, 278 pp.