One-stringed narrow-breasted ant
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One-stringed narrow-breasted ant ( Temnothorax unifasciatus ) |
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| ( Latreille , 1798) |
The one- stringed narrow-breasted ant ( Temnothorax unifasciatus ) is a species of ant from the subfamily of knot ants that occurs in Europe .
features
The one-stringed narrow-breasted ant is a very small, strikingly colored ant. The colonies are obligatorily monogynous , the queen measures 3–4 mm, workers are 1–2 mm long. They are red-brown to yellowish in color and show a broad, dark horizontal stripe on the gaster , which was also decisive for the naming of the species. Ants infested by the Finns of certain types of tapeworm are lighter in color.
Way of life
The single-stringed narrow-breasted ants live in warm areas of dry forests. The colonies consist of relatively few individuals, which can be found inside a hollow acorn, for example. They live in dead wood, in and under pieces of bark and between stones. They eat zoophag , and honeydew is also taken in.
The one-stringed narrow-breasted ant is not very aggressive towards other colonies and species and avoids confrontation. The small number of individuals in the colonies may also be a reason why there are no specialized workers who carry sick or dead animals out of the nest. However, it has been observed that sick or weak animals voluntarily withdraw from the nest at the end of their life and avoid further social contact with healthy animals. In the absence of a queen, workers can become fertile , but when a queen returns they are attacked immediately and displaced from the nest.
distribution
The single-stringed narrow-breasted ant occurs in deciduous forests, but also in mixed forests with oaks, in pine stands and woody trees similar to forests, in gardens, parks and orchards . It is most commonly found on the stony soil of south-facing, dry-warm slopes in open country throughout Europe except Great Britain. In Germany, stocks are currently falling.
Systematics
Temnothorax unifasciatus was originally described as Formica unifasciatus by Latreille in 1798. 2003 Temnothorax was separated from B. Bolton from the genus Leptothorax .
Subspecies:
- T. u. unifasciatus
- T. u. obenbergeri
- T. u. rougeti
- T. u. staegeri
- T. u. ucrainicus
- T. u. unifasciatonigriceps
literature
- Bernhard Seifert: Ants: observe, determine. Naturbuch Verlag, Augsburg 1996
- Bernhard Seifert: The ants of Central and Northern Europe. Lutra publishing and sales company, Tauer 2007
Web links
- Temnothorax unifasciatus at AntWeb
- Temnothorax unifasciatus Picture on flickr
Individual evidence
- ↑ Temnothorax unifasciatus ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Profile at World of Ants (German)
- ^ Ants die lonely science.ORF.at of January 29, 2010
- ↑ Jürgen Heinze and Bartosz Walter: Moribund Ants Leave Their Nests to Die in Social Isolation. Current Biology, January 2010, doi : 10.1016 / j.cub.2009.12.031 .
- ↑ Ed Yong: Terminally ill ants choose to die alone ( Memento of the original from January 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Science blogs from January 28, 2010
- ↑ Nathalie Stroeymeyt, Elisabeth Brünner and Juergen Heinze: “Selfish worker policing” reproduction controls in a Temnothorax ant. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 61, 9, pp. 1449–1457, Springer, July 2007 Abstract ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ PA Latreille: Essai sur l'histoire des fourmis de la France. 1798
- ↑ B. Bolton: Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 71, pp. 1-370, 2003
