Ural ant
| Ural ant | ||||||||||
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Ural ant ( Formica uralensis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Formica uralensis | ||||||||||
| Ruzsky , 1895 |
The Ural ant ( Formica uralensis ) belongs to the genus of wood ants ( Formica ) in the subfamily of scale ants (Formicinae).
features
The workers are 4.5 to 8 millimeters long, the sex animals reach body lengths of 9 to 11 millimeters.
The head is completely black, the mesosoma is brownish, only laterally the reddish coloration typical of wood ants can be seen. The pronotum is extensively black, the mesonotum also has a distinct black spot. The back of the head has no protruding hair and the underside of the head is only sparsely hairy.
distribution and habitat
The Ural ant lives mainly in bog areas . She prefers the edge areas overgrown with trees. Heathland are seldom populated. It is widespread from eastern France to eastern Siberia, but is mainly found north of the 53rd parallel. To the south of it it occurs exclusively in raised bogs . In Siberia it also populates drier steppes . Only 23 sites are known in Germany .
Way of life
This ant species founds its primary colonies in a socially parasitic manner near Formica picea , in Eastern Siberia near Formica candida . After an initial monogyny , the colonies usually become highly polygynous with over 300 queens. Supercolonies that comprise several nests (polydomy) are also often formed . The Ural ant is considered to be very insensitive to harsh weather conditions. The activity phase starts in mid-February at just 4 degrees Celsius and does not end until November.
Like all wood ants, it can survive underwater for 14 days. It absorbs significantly more oxygen from the water than any other species. It can withstand regular flooding of its nest in the swamps.
Systematics
The Ural ant is often mistakenly counted as a subgenus of the slave ants ( Serviformica ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dieter Otto: The red wood ants . (3rd, revised and expanded edition.) Westarp Sciences 2005; 192 pages, 77 ills., ISBN 3-89432718-9
- ↑ a b Bernhard Seifert : The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1
- ↑ Hölldobler and Wilson : The Ants . Springer, 1990, ISBN 3-540-52092-9
Web links
- Pictures of Formica uralensis at the German Ant Conservation Center
- Formica uralensis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: Social Insects Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved October 9, 2013.