Ross ants

Ross ants
	Preparation of a horse ant in acrylic
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Family :	Ants (Formicidae)
Subfamily :	Scale ants (Formicinae)
Genre :	Ross ants
Scientific name
	Camponotus
	Mayr , 1861

Brown and black horse ant ( Camponotus ligniperda )

Worker of a plug-head ant ( Camponotus truncatus )

Ross ants ( Camponotus ) or wood ants are a genus of ants (Formicidae) from the subfamily of the scale ants (Formicinae). There are over 1000 species worldwide , at least 100 of which are very large in the Palearctic .

features

The antennae arise clearly behind the rear edge of the clypeus . The opening of the metapleural gland is missing. In contrast to the wood ants , the upper side of the thorax is uniformly curved, without deeper notches.

The black horse ant ( Camponotus herculeanus ) and the brownish black horse ant ( Camponotus ligniperda ) are the largest Central European ants. They are up to 18 millimeters long. The plug-head ant ( Camponotus truncatus ) is the only species native to Germany that has a box dimorphism . The Camponotus gigas , native to Southeast Asia, is one of the largest ants in the world.

Way of life

The males and young queens of the European species overwinter twice in the mother nest; once as a larva and once as an imago . They only leave the colony in the third year. It is noticeable that males often take part in trophy taxis and brood care. Although also known as wood ants, not all native Camponotus species are arboricol (tree-dwelling).

Many horse ants are aphidophilic ; h., they often live with myrmecophile Schnabelkerfen in trophobiosis together they protect and from whom they exzernierte obtain nutrients.

Systematics

The following species are native to Central Europe (selection):

Brown and black horse ant ( Camponotus ligniperda ) (Latreille, 1802)

Hairy wood ant ( Camponotus vagus ) (Scopoli, 1763)

Hollow-backed wood ant ( Camponotus lateralis ) (Oliver, 1792)

Horse ant ( Camponotus fallax ) (Nylander, 1856)

Black horse ant ( Camponotus herculeanus ) (Linnaeus, 1758)

Plug-head ant ( Camponotus truncatus ) (Spinola, 1808)

Camponotus aethiops (Latreille, 1798)

Camponotus piceus (Leach, 1825)

Other non-European species (selection):

Camponotus compressus ( Fabricius 1798)
Camponotus consobrinus (Erichson, 1842)
Camponotus gigas (Latreille, 1802)
Camponotus nigriceps (Smith, 1858)

Massive infestation in a winter garden

Pest infestation

Damp lumber can be viewed by wood ants as an ideal place for nests. These can consist of a single as well as branched sub-nests. The fight is carried out by completely removing the affected wooden structure

swell

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Bernhard Seifert : The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1 .
↑ Forest ecology - ant enclosure. Agricultural Coordination Office for Education and Research, accessed on December 11, 2013 .

literature

Bert Hölldobler , Edward O. Wilson : Ants. The discovery of a fascinating world. From the American by Susanne Böll. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel - Boston - Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-7643-5152-7

Web links

Commons : Ross ants - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[seifert2007-1] Bernhard Seifert : The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1 .

[2] Forest ecology - ant enclosure. Agricultural Coordination Office for Education and Research, accessed on December 11, 2013 .