Leptothorax pacis

This species is a workerless inquiline. Queens live in the nest of a different ant species, have no workers and are entirely dependent on their hosts for food. The queens produce eggs that are cared for and raised to maturity by the host workers.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Switzerland.

Biology
An inquiline ant living within the nests of their host species, in sticks, pieces of bark and tree stumps in coniferous forests. The species is workerless and apparently host-queen tolerant.

The alate gynes practice female calling outside their natal nest. Mating takes place on the ground, often on top of the nest.

The three species L. pacis, Leptothorax kutteri and Leptothorax goesswaldi all are workerless, permanent parasites of Leptothorax acervorum.

Nomenclature

 *  pacis. Doronomyrmex pacis Kutter, 1945: 486, 3 figs. (q.) SWITZERLAND. Kutter, 1950c: 348 (m.). Included in Leptothorax: Heinze, 1998: 195 (combination not stated); combination in Leptothorax: Bolton, 2003: 270. See also: Buschinger, 1972: 169; Kutter, 1977c: 146.