Myrmica karavajevi

Distribution
S. England to Ukraine, Czechoslovakia to Finland (Collingwood 1979).

This taxon was described from Ukraine. It is also found in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Austria, Italy, Russian Federation, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Czech Republic and Spain.

Biology
Collingwood (1979) - This ant has been recorded sometimes in large numbers and sometimes as one or two individuals in nests of various Myrmica host species including Myrmica rugulosa, Myrmica scabrinodis and Myrmica sabuleti. A colony in Dorset, England, was observed for over 4 years during which time alate queens and males of the parasite were present each season together with workers and worker brood of the host, indicating that egg laying queens of both parasite and Myrmica host were surviving together in the same nest. In Norway 2 dealate queens were caught in pitfall traps in July 1974 suggesting that after mating, fertilised queens wander over the ground in search of a colony of the host species.

Nomenclature

 *  karavajevi. Symbiomyrma karavajevi Arnol'di, 1930c: 269, figs. 1-4 (q.m.) UKRAINE. [Also described as new by Arnol'di, 1933a: 41.] Combination in Symbiomyrma: Seifert, 1994: 15; Seifert, 1996b: 236; in Sifolinia: Samsinak, 1964: 156; in Myrmica: Bolton, 1988a: 4; Radchenko & Elmes, 2003a: 231. Senior synonym of pechi: Samsinak, 1964: 156; of faniensis, winterae: Seifert, 1994: 15. See also: Kutter, 1973c: 256 (misspelled as karawajewi); Collingwood, 1979: 58; Radchenko & Elmes, 2003a: 231; Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 163.
 * pechi. Sifolinia pechi Samsinak, 1957: 167, 2 figs. (q.) CZECHOSLOVAKIA. Pisarski, 1962: 367 (m.). Junior synonym of karavajevi: Samsinak, 1964: 156.
 * faniensis. Myrmica faniensis Boven, 1970a: 127, figs. 1, 2 (q.) BELGIUM. Junior synonym of karavajevi: Seifert, 1994: 15. See also: Kutter, 1973c: 256; Boven, 1977: 114; Bolton, 1988a: 4.
 * winterae. Sifolinia winterae Kutter, 1973c: 263, figs. 1, 2, 8, 9, 13-15 (q.m.) SWITZERLAND. Combination in Myrmica: Bolton, 1988a: 4. Junior synonym of karavajevi: Seifert, 1994: 15.

Additional References

 * [[Media:Arnol'di 1930c.pdf|Arnol'di, K. V. 1930c. Studien über die Systematik der Ameisen. VI. Eine neue parasitische Ameise, mit Bezugnahme auf die Frage nach der Entstehung der Gattungsmerkmale bei den parasitären Ameisen. Zool. Anz. 91: 267-283 PDF]]


 * [[Media:Zabalegui 2004.pdf|Espadaler, X.; Zabalegui, I.; Calvo Sanchez, F. 2004. Primer registro de Myrmica karavajevi (Arnoldi, 1930) en la Península Ibérica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Heteropterus Rev. Entomol. 4: 81-83 PDF]]


 * Radchenko, A.G. & Elmes, G.W. 2010. Myrmica ants of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3: 1-789.