Narrow ancient ant
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Profile view of a Ponera coarctata |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ponera coarctata | ||||||||||||
| ( Latreille , 1802) |
The narrow primeval ant ( Ponera coarctata ) is an ant from the subfamily of primeval ants (Ponerinae). It is easy to confuse it with the very similar brown ancient ant ( Ponera testacea ). These two sister species are the only representatives of the ancient ants originally found in Central Europe .
features
These ants are exceptionally narrow, which makes them appear quite elongated and cylindrical. They have the typical ponerinae constriction of Gaster on. Their body is dark brown to blackish in color. The stalk member ( petiolus ) is scale-shaped and towering steeply. The head is strongly flattened and the compound eyes are very small. The workers are 3 to 3.5 millimeters long, the queens reach over 3.5 millimeters and the males a little more than three millimeters. They have a very powerful venomous sting that can kill other much larger ants in seconds. The sex animals swarm between the end of August and the end of September.
distribution
The narrow primeval ant lives mainly in warm places. It uses moist to dry mineral soils on open areas and in wooded areas. It is widespread in all of Central Europe and sometimes quite common, but difficult to discover because of its hidden way of life. The animals are rarely seen on the surface of the earth, and the nests are also very inconspicuous. Colonies even exist in urban areas, for example on railway lines or in flower boxes and in the substrate of street trees.
Way of life
The establishment of a colony takes place independently with an initial monogyny . Other queens may be added later (optional polygyny ). The states usually only consist of up to 60 workers. Colonies with more than 135 workers and three reproductive queens are not known. The workers mostly hunt underground or in the litter layer.
Nest building
The underground nests can hardly be seen from the surface. Narrow passages lead deep into the ground to one or more small chambers. Prepared cavities are also used, such as tunnels for earthworms or other animals. P. coarctata often settles near foreign ant colonies with which it can easily coexist. Some researchers therefore assume a kleptoparasitic lifestyle.
nutrition
Like most ancient ants, this type of ant feeds exclusively on zoophagus . All kinds of arthropods living under the earth's surface and their stages of development serve as prey .
Systematics
Synonyms
The following synonyms for Ponera coarctata are known from the literature :
- Ponera coarctata var. Atlantis Santschi
- Ponera coarctata var. Crassisquama Emery
- Ponera coarctata var. Lucida Emery
- Ponera coarctata var. Testacea Emery
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Heiko Bellmann : bees, wasps, ants. Hymenoptera of Central Europe . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-440-09690-4
- ↑ Csősz, S. and Seifert, B .: Ponera Testacea Emery, 1895 Stat. N. - A Sister Species of P. Coarctata (Latreille, 1802). (PDF; 193 kB) Retrieved June 5, 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
- ↑ Ponera coarctata (Latreille, 1802). www.formicidae.be, accessed July 6, 2008 .
literature
- Bert Hölldobler , Edward O. Wilson : Ants. The discovery of a fascinating world. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel - Boston - Berlin 1995. ISBN 3-7643-5152-7
Web links
- Ponera coarctata at Fauna Europaea
- www.ameisen-net.de Photos