Formica rufibarbis

This is a widely distributed species occurring throughout Europe, nesting in the ground with a single entrance hole or under stones. It is predatory and aggressive and readily attacks other species of ants and insects. New nests are started by single queens alone. Mature colonies are separate but may contain two or three queens with up to 500 or more workers. Alatae fly in late June and July (Collingwood 1979).

Identification
Seifert and Schultz (2009) - A member of the Formica rufibarbis group. Formica rufibarbis is safely separable by discriminant analysis from any other species of the group throughout its whole geographic range. Sometimes, less hairy specimens of F. rufibarbis could be confused with more hairy Formica clara.

Collingwood (1979) - Head and alitrunk mainly red with variable amounts of dark on promesonotum and hind part of head. Gaster thickly pubescent, dull. Erect hairs numerous on pronotum and normally present on upper margin of scale, absent on gula and occiput. Length: 4.5-7.0 mm.

Distribution
Seifert and Schultz (2009) - Inhabiting the temperate, Ponto-south-Siberian and Submediterranean zones of the West Palaearctic from the Pyrenees to West Siberia (76° E) and the Southwest Siberian Saur Mountains (85° E). In Fennoscandia going to 61° N, both in Sweden (Collingwood 1979) and Finland, in the Alps and the Caucasus climbing up to 2100 m.

Collingwood (1979) - Portugal to Western Siberia, Mountains of Middle East to South Fennoscandia.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India. Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Balearic Islands, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Biology
Seifert and Schultz (2009) - Habitat selection intermediate between the moderately thermophilic Formica cunicularia and the strongly thermophilic Formica clara. Compared to the former more frequent on sandy and open ground with higher soil temperature, lower moisture and less developed herb layer and penetrating deeper into the urban zone. Presence, mean and maximum nest density on 81 potentially suitable, 150-m2-test-plots on open land in Germany was 44%, 1.0 and 6.0 nests / 100 m2 respectively. Diet, activity pattern and nest construction similar to F. cunicularia but often with larger nest populations, more aggressive, more readily attacking other ants and more effectively defending against social parasites than F. cunicularia. Cooperative transport of large prey items may occur. Alates occur in Central Europe 14 July ± 15 d [16 June, 3 August], n = 13 (Seifert 2007).

Other Insects
This ant has been associated with a butterfly species that has recently been split into two species: Polyommatus icarus and Polyommatus celin. Presently it is unclear if this association is between F. rufibarus and one or the other of these butterflies, or both (Obregon et al. 2015).

Fungi
This species is a host for the ectoparastic fungus Aegeritella tuberculata (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Nomenclature

 *  rufibarbis. Formica rufibarbis Fabricius, 1793: 355 (w.) FRANCE. Jurine, 1807: 273 (q.m.); Emery, 1909b: 197 (q.m.). Combination in F. (Serviformica): Forel, 1915d: 64. Subspecies of fusca: Forel, 1874: 54; Mayr, 1886d: 427; Forel, 1892i: 307; Ruzsky, 1904b: 4; Wheeler, W.M. 1908g: 406; Emery, 1909b: 197; Forel, 1915d: 64; Emery, 1916b: 255; Santschi, 1919e: 247. Status as species: André, 1882b: 182; Nasonov, 1889: 19; Dalla Torre, 1893: 209; Emery, 1898c: 126; Ruzsky, 1902d: 11; Bingham, 1903: 335; Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 514; Donisthorpe, 1915d: 320; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 550; Bondroit, 1918: 51; Emery, 1925b: 249; Karavaiev, 1927c: 286; Stitz, 1930: 238; Karavaiev, 1936: 234; Stitz, 1939: 355; Novak & Sadil, 1941: 107; Yarrow, 1954a: 231; Dlussky, 1967a: 73; Bernard, 1967: 297; Francoeur, 1973: 228; Collingwood, 1979: 128. Senior synonym of cinereorufibarbis: Bernard, 1967: 297; Collingwood, 1978: 73; Seifert & Schultz, 2009: 260; of defensor, fraterna: Forel, 1894c: 403; Bingham, 1903: 335; of nicaeensis: Roger, 1863b: 13; of piligera: Lomnicki, 1928: 9; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 163; of stenoptera: Dalla Torre, 1893: 210; Yarrow, 1954a: 231; Dlussky, 1967a: 73. See also: Seifert & Schultz, 2009: 260. Current subspecies: nominal plus clarorufibarbis, subpilosorufibarbis.
 * nicaeensis. Formica nicaeensis Leach, 1825: 291 (w.q.m.) FRANCE. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Roger, 1863b: 13.
 * cinereorufibarbis. Formica fusca var. cinereorufibarbis Forel, 1874: 55 (w.q.m.) SWITZERLAND. Combination in F. (Serviformica): Forel, 1915d: 64. Subspecies of rufibarbis: Dalla Torre, 1893: 210; of cinerea: Forel, 1915d: 64; Emery, 1916b: 255; Emery, 1925b: 246. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Bernard, 1967: 297; of fuscocinerea: Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 161. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Kutter, 1977c: 253. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Collingwood, 1978: 73; Seifert & Schultz, 2009: 260.
 * defensor. Formica defensor Smith, F. 1878b: 11 (w.) CHINA. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Forel, 1894c: 403.
 * fraterna. Formica fraterna Smith, F. 1878b: 11 (w.) CHINA. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Forel, 1894c: 403; Bingham, 1903: 335.
 * piligera. Formica rufibarbis var. piligera Lomnicki, 1925a: 175 (w.q.) POLAND. Junior synonym of rufibarbis: Lomnicki, 1928: 9; Dlussky & Pisarski, 1971: 163.

Worker
Seifert and Schultz (2009) - Large Serviformica species (mean CS 1.455 mm), head more elongated (CL / CW1.4 1.141), Scape moderately long SL / CS1.4 1.068; distance of lateral ocelli moderate (OceD / CS1.4 0.169), petiole rather wide (PEW / CS1.4 0.471). Clypeus with sharp median keel and fine longitudinal microcarinulae. Frontal triangle finely transversely rippled and with 35 - 55 short pubescence hairs. Eyes with microsetae of 11 - 15 μm maximum length. Total mean of unilateral setae numbers on different body parts predicted for a specimen with CS = 1.4 mm: pronotum 11.1, mesonotum 6.5, propodeum plus dorsolateral metapleuron 0.8, petiole scale dorsal of spiracle 3.2, flexor profile of hind tibia 2.8. Posterior margin of head normally without setae. Ventral coxae and gaster tergites with long setae. Dorsal mesonotum in lateral aspect broadly rounded. Metanotal groove relatively deep. Propodeal dome in profile rounded, its basal profile sometimes flat or slightly concave. Dorsal crest of petiole in frontal view convex, sometimes (especially in larger specimens) with straight or weekly excavate median portion, in smaller ants sometimes bluntly angled. Petiole scale in lateral aspect rather thin, with convex anterior and more straight posterior profile. Gaster with transverse microripples of small average distance (RipD 4.4 μm) and covered by dense silvery pubescence (sqPDG 3.2). Pubescence on head, mesosoma and petiole dense. Posterior vertex, sometimes dorsal promesonotum, coxae and all appendages normally brown or dark brown, gaster always dark brown. Other body parts reddish.

Type Material
Seifert and Schultz (2009) - Neotype worker labelled “FRA: 44.073°N, 7.295°E, St. Martin Vesubie, Cime de la Palu, 2058 m R. Schultz 2002.05.14 -108” and “Neotype Formica rufibarbis Fabricius 1793, des. Seifert & Schultz 2009”; SMN Görlitz. In case of destruction or loss of the neotype specimen, a replacement neotype can be designated from a series of 6 mounted workers and 14 workers in ethanol from the same nest sample, having identical sample number, kept in SMN Görlitz and coll. RS.

Justification of the neotype fixation: Formica rufibarbis has been described from France ("Habitat in Gallia"). There is no specimen from Fabricius available that could be interpreted as a primary type. During a thorough search in the Fabricius collection in ZMU Copenhagen in 2006, a Formica worker labelled “rufibarbis” was found. It is without head, has a damaged mesosoma, carries no locality label but the registration label "Formica rufibarbis 402.26 Kiel" (a permanent loan from the museum in Kiel). This specimen definitely belongs to Formica truncorum Fabricius, 1804. It cannot be considered as type of F. rufibarbis because its characters clearly disagree with the original description: It has reddish legs including tarsi instead of “pedes nigri” and a reddish brown gaster instead of “Abdomen atrum”. The missing parts of this F. truncorum specimen would also not have a “Caput nigrum ore late rufo”.