Big knot ant
| Big knot ant | ||||||||||||
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Large knot ant ( Manica rubida ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Manica rubida | ||||||||||||
| ( Latreille , 1802) |
The great knot ant ( Manica rubida ) is an ant from the subfamily of knot ants (Myrmicinae).
features
The workers are six to nine millimeters long and mostly reddish to reddish-brown in color. The head and the rear end of the strongly shiny gaster are colored darker. The front part of the body, on the other hand, is only glossy. The queens measure 9.5 to 13 millimeters and are slightly darker in color than the workers. The males are 8 to 10 millimeters in length and are glossy black throughout.
distribution
Their habitat is Central and Southern Europe , it must not be too dry or too warm. It predominantly settles at an altitude of 500 to 2,000 meters in open locations in mountains and low mountain ranges. Sandy soils in floodplains as well as gravel pits and former open-cast mining areas are also used.
Way of life
M. rubida hibernates from October to March. Your sting is extremely painful (comparable to a wasp sting ). The sex animals hatch at the end of June, but usually no longer swarm in the same year and hibernate once in the mother's nest. The main swarms take place on warm, sunny mornings between the end of April and mid-June, less often from mid-July to mid-August.
Although not very aggressive, this species is still very defensive and can hardly be overcome by other ant species. It only defends its immediate nest area. Manica rubida is semiclaustral , so the queen leaves the nest to look for food. The colonies are polygynous above a certain size ( secondary polygyny ). The nests are often under stones, but can also occur freely in the earth. At the nest entrances the sputum accumulates to form noticeable craters. These ants eat insects and lick honeydew.
Hazard and protection
Manica rubida is threatened because of the decline in suitable habitats. According to the red list of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation of the Federal Republic of Germany, it is considered endangered (category 3).
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Large knot ant ( Manica rubida ). DASW LV Sachsen, accessed on June 3, 2008 .
- ↑ 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
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
