Red garden ant
| Red garden ant | ||||||||||||
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Two red garden ant workers |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Myrmica rubra | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The red garden ant ( Myrmica rubra ), also known as the red and yellow knot ant , is one of the most widespread ant species in Central Europe .
features
The workers are four to six millimeters long, the color is reddish brown and dark brown on the head. The abdomen ( gaster ) is a little darker than the mesosoma and shiny. The head looks elongated. The scapus of the antennae is long and thin, the curve near the base is gentle and even. Seen from the side, the top of the Petiolus appears as a gentle dome, which slopes steadily and without a step backwards. Petiolus and Postpetiolus are smooth in contrast to the otherwise slightly furrowed, wrinkled body surface. The two thorns on the propodeum have a broad base and are shorter than 0.28 times the length of the head. The place between the thorns is smooth and evenly shiny. There is only one worker caste, although the sizes of individual workers can vary significantly. The males are four to five millimeters long and black, the tip of the gastric tube is slightly lighter in color than the rest of the body. The queens are 5 to 7.5 millimeters long and have a significantly darker colored mesosoma. A shiny triangle can be seen on the forehead. The thorns on the propodeum reach a maximum of 0.25 times the length of the head.
In addition to the common queen morph (macrogyne), there is a microgyne morph. These much smaller full females arise through genetic predetermination. It is not a separate species, as has long been suspected. Myrmica microrubra was raised to species status in 1993, but more recent findings suggest that speciation is not yet complete.
Like all members of the knot ants (Myrmicinae), workers and queens are equipped with a poison sting , the sting of which causes unpleasant pain, but is usually harmless. There may be an allergy risk .
distribution and habitat
The red garden ant is found all over Europe , from Portugal to Siberia . In Finland and Sweden their distribution area extends up to the 67th parallel, on the Atlantic coast up to the 70th parallel. Except in the alpine zone, it can be found everywhere in Central Europe . In the Mediterranean area it occurs only in very humid areas. It inhabits very different habitats, from meadows and gardens to forests and bushland. She prefers moist and partially shaded locations. It is often the only ant species in high meadows or on heavily bushed areas. It also occurs in warm deciduous and riparian forests. In shady forests and above 800 meters it is displaced by Myrmica ruginodis . It is also absent in very dry locations with little vegetation.
As an invasive species, Myrmica rubra is also known in Québec, Canada and the northeastern United States . In 2002, more than twenty settlements were documented along the Atlantic coast. It was first discovered there around 1906 by myrmecologist William Morton Wheeler. The species was probably introduced from Europe with ornamental plants. The ant can also be found on the North American Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia and in the US state of Washington .
Way of life
The red garden ant is the most populous Myrmica species. Nests contain an average of 15 queens and 1000 workers. In extreme cases the number of individuals can be up to 20,000 workers and 600 queens. Supercolonies that span multiple nests can form. Various locations are used when building nests. Myrmica rubra lives in rotten wood, under cushions of moss and under the protection of stones, but also in open fields. With high vegetation, the mounds of earth then reach a considerable size. The animals are very aggressive when defending their nests. When foraging for food, the workers also walk across bushes and trees. In the event of flooding, the red garden ant is able to form rafts ( bivouac rafts or ant clusters), which only consist of the animals. This was first scientifically confirmed in 1997 in Eastern Austria.
In their nest, caterpillars of some species of bluetooth often hibernate, such as the dark blue butterfly ( Phengaris nausithous ), where the moth caterpillars live predatory on ant brood .
Reproduction
The sex animals swarm mainly between mid-August and mid-September. You fly to elevated terrain points to the Gipfelbalz . This is also where mating takes place. The foundation of the colony takes place monogynically, with further queens usually being added later ("secondary polygyny"). Intranidal mating is also possible. Mated females can overwinter in the mother's nest and are not yet reproductive. They often still wear their wings. They leave the nest between late April and early July the following year.
nutrition
The red garden ant is omnivorous and feeds on carrion, preyed insects and nectar. It also eats elaiosomes (oil-rich appendages on plant seeds) and thus plays a role in the spread of these plants. Real granivory does not occur. The trophallaxis with plant suckers such as aphids and scale insects is very pronounced . So she visits aphid colonies on trees and bushes to pick up the honeydew excreted by the plant suckers . In the fight for food sources and aphid colonies, the species proves to be quite successful and can also assert itself against garden ants ( Lasius ).
Systematics
Synonyms
The following synonyms for Myrmica rubra are known from the literature :
- Myrmica laevinodis Nylander
- Myrmica laevinodis var. Bruesi Weber
- Myrmica rubra r. champlaini Forel
- Myrmica longiscapus Curtis
- Myrmica rubra laevinodis Nylander
- Myrmica microrubra Seifert, 1993
swell
Individual evidence
- ^ Bernhard Seifert: A taxonomic revision of the Myrmica species of Europe, Asia Minor, and Caucasia . Treatises and reports of the Natural History Museum Görlitz 62, 1-75 (1988). ( Full text )
- ↑ Red garden ant ( Myrmica rubra ). DASW LV Sachsen, accessed on July 17, 2008 .
- ↑ a b c d e Bernhard Seifert: The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1
- ^ Myrmica rubra (Linnaeus). Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, accessed July 25, 2008 .
- ^ British Columbia Magazine, Fall 2011, p.10
- ↑ Christian O. Dietrich, Birgit Schlick, Florian Steiner: Ameisen bei Hochwasser (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - observations in Eastern Austria in July 1997. In: Myrmecologische Nachrichten 2, 1998, pp. 35–41.
- ^ List of host ant species for blue ant species
- ^ Myrmica rubra (Linnaeus, 1758). www.formicidae.be, accessed July 18, 2008 .
Web links
- AntWeb images of Myrmica rubra
- AmeisenWiki Article in the AmeisenWiki