Lasius alienus

Identification
Greyish yellow to brownish black. Pubescence adpressed, moderately thick over whole body and appendages. Short erect hairs scattered over dorsum and round whole occipital margin of head. Back of head convex. Ocelli indistinct or invisible; frontal furrow indistinct. Erect hairs absent on scape and front tibiae, sometimes present on hind tibiae. Length: 3.0-4.2 mm (Collingwood 1979).

Distribution
Portugal to Japan also Himalayas, North Africa to Finland. Also North America (Wilson, 1955).

This taxon was described from Germany.

Europe
Collingwood (1979) - This wide ranging species nests in the soil on sandy lowland heaths, dry open pasture, sea cliffs and rocky outcrops in North Europe. Its habits are mainly subterranean, feeding on the exudates of root aphids but also by scavenging and predating small insects. Workers are generally unobtrusive and non aggressive compared with Lasius niger. Nests are single queened founded by solitary fertilised queens. Mating swarms occur in August.

Nomenclature

 *  alienus. Formica aliena Foerster, 1850a: 36 (w.m.) GERMANY. Foerster, 1850a: 71 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953c: 147 (l.); Hauschteck, 1962: 219 (k.). Combination in Lasius: Mayr, 1861: 49; in Donisthorpea: Donisthorpe, 1915d: 212; in Formicina: Emery, 1916b: 240; in Acanthomyops: Ruzsky, 1925b: 44; in Lasius: Menozzi, 1921: 32; Müller, 1923: 125; Emery, 1925b: 230; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929a: 27. Subspecies of niger: Forel, 1874: 46; Mayr, 1886d: 429; Forel, 1892i: 307; Forel, 1904b: 386; Wheeler, W.M. 1906c: 322; Forel, 1913d: 438; Forel, 1915d: 53; Emery, 1916b: 240; Santschi, 1925g: 349; Karavaiev, 1927c: 280; Menozzi, 1936d: 305; Menozzi, 1939a: 312. Status as species: Saunders, E. 1880: 209; André, 1882b: 192; Nasonov, 1889: 22; Emery, 1897f: 238; Ruzsky, 1902d: 16; Emery, 1908d: 24; Bondroit, 1911: 11; Donisthorpe, 1915d: 212; Bondroit, 1918: 25; Stitz, 1939: 279; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 101; Röszler, 1942a: 53; Stärcke, 1944a: 153; Wilson, 1955a: 77; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 200; Kutter, 1977c: 227; Collingwood, 1979: 97; Yamauchi, 1979: 156; Collingwood, 1982: 285; Kupyanskaya, 1990: 218; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 237; Seifert, 1992b: 13. Senior synonym of americanus, pannonica and material of the unavailable names alienoamericanus, flavidus, turkmenus referred here: Wilson, 1955a: 77.
 * americanus. Lasius niger var. americanus Emery, 1893i: 639 (w.q.m.) U.S.A. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953c: 147 (l.). Subspecies of niger: Wheeler, W.M. 1904e: 305; Forel, 1900e: 285; Buren, 1944a: 296. Raised to species: Gregg, E.V. 1945: 530. Subspecies of alienus: Creighton, 1950a: 419. Junior synonym of alienus: Wilson, 1955a: 77.
 * pannonica. Lasius alienus var. pannonica Röszler, 1942b: 40 (w.) HUNGARY. Junior synonym of alienus: Wilson, 1955a: 78. Unrecognisable taxon, incertae sedis in Lasius: Seifert, 1992b: 48.

Additional References
[[Media:Tanquary 1908.pdf|Biological and embryological studies on Formicidae]]