Wood knot ant

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Wood knot ant
Myrmica.ruginodis .-. Lindsey.jpg

Forest knot ant ( Myrmica ruginodis )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Family : Ants (Formicidae)
Subfamily : Knot ants (Myrmicinae)
Genre : Myrmica
Type : Wood knot ant
Scientific name
Myrmica ruginodis
Nylander , 1846

The forest knot ant ( Myrmica ruginodis ) is an ant from the subfamily of knot ants (Myrmicinae). It is mostly native to shady forests.

features

The workers show a reddish-brown color. The scapus of the antennae is gently and evenly curved at the base. The head and foreleg ( mesosoma ) show a clear longitudinal furrow. Both limbs of the stalk are wrinkled, the top of the thick petiolus drops backwards and abruptly forms a step near the connection to the postpetiolus. The two thorns on the propodeum are significantly longer than 0.28 times the length of the head. The sex animals are darker in color than the workers. In the males, the scapus is very long and slightly curved at the base. The queens resemble the workers, the thorns on the propodeum reach more than 0.25 times the head length. The females are dimorphic in size and a distinction is made between macrogynes and microgynes.

distribution and habitat

The distribution area extends from Spain to Kamchatka . In Northern Europe it occurs up to the 71st parallel. Myrmica ruginodis is very common in Central Europe and mostly uses forested habitats, preferably cool deciduous and coniferous forests. In warmer deciduous forests in the lowlands and in alluvial forests, it is displaced by its main competitor Myrmica rubra . Above 800 meters above sea level, however, the forest knot ant can also be found in moors and grasslands, where Myrmica rubra recedes. It can hardly be found on agricultural land or near settlements.

Way of life

The sex animals swarm between the middle of July and the beginning of September from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time, mostly in muggy weather. The colonies of macrogynes remain mostly monogynous after a semiclaustral foundation and have large, aggressive workers. Colonies of microgynes contain several queens and spread via branch nesting. Young microgynes are adopted from existing nests and the small workers are not very aggressive. Mixed nests and cross mating are possible.

Systematics

Synonyms

The following synonyms for Myrmica ruginodis are known from the literature :

  • Myrmica diluta Nylander
  • Myrmica dimidiata Say
  • Myrmica rubra var. Macrogyna Brian & Brian
  • Myrmica rubra var. Microgyna Brian & Brian
  • Myrmica rubra var. Mutata Sadil
  • Myrmica rubra var. Ruginodolaevinodis Forel

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Individual evidence

  1. ^ 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 )
  2. ↑ 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
  3. ^ Myrmica ruginodis Nylander, 1846. www.formicidae.be, accessed July 31, 2008 .

Web links

  • AntWeb images of Myrmica ruginodis