Biology:Formica paralugubris

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Short description: Species of ant

Formica paralugubris
Formica paralugubris Queen - specimen type (FoCol0762) 1.tif
Queen - specimen type (FoCol0762) 1
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Formica
Species:
F. paralugubris
Binomial name
Formica paralugubris
Seifert, 1996

Formica paralugubris is a species of ant. It is a member of the Formica rufa species group native to the Alps in the Palearctic realm. It is a cryptic species, often miscategorized as Formica lugubris due to morphological similarities. The two species are capable of differentiating one another, however; F. paralugubris ants react aggressively towards F. lugubris ants.[1]Formica paralugubris differs in its organization as a supercolony. It has been introduced into North America with the import of pine trees. It does not exhibit characteristics found in other invasive species due to its limited native range.[2]

Ecology

Nestmates within a F. paralugubris colony can recognize each other.[1] F. paralugubris worker ants are known to collect conifer resin and place near their brood; this resin contains antimicrobial properties[3] that the ants often modify by releasing formic acid onto the resin. Formic acid in combination with resin has antifungal properties.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Chapuisat, Michel; Bernasconi, Christian; Hoehn, Sophie; Reuter, Max (1 January 2005). "Nestmate recognition in the unicolonial ant Formica paralugubris". Behavioral Ecology 16 (1): 15–19. doi:10.1093/beheco/arh128. https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/16/1/15/205933. Retrieved 30 November 2022. 
  2. Seifert, Bernhard (February 16, 2015). "The supercolonial European wood ant Formica paralugubris SEIFERT, 1996 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) introduced to Canada and its predicted role in Nearctic forests". Myrmecological News 22. https://antcat.s3.amazonaws.com/7928/seifert_2016_myrmecol_news_introduction_of_formica_paralugubris_to_canada.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJJR3DGROFMVL2FBQ%2F20221130%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20221130T005823Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=61b3a2f52e2a5658118d851cc4c6cccfc85b96031ff0fb94420352c99687097e. Retrieved 30 November 2022. 
  3. Chapuisat, Michel; Oppliger, Anne; Magliano, Pasqualina; Christe, Philippe (2007). "Wood Ants Use Resin to Protect Themselves against Pathogens". Proceedings: Biological Sciences 274 (1621): 2013–2017. doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.0531. ISSN 0962-8452. PMID 17535794. 
  4. Brütsch, Timothée; Jaffuel, Geoffrey; Vallat, Armelle; Turlings, Ted C. J.; Chapuisat, Michel (April 2017). "Wood ants produce a potent antimicrobial agent by applying formic acid on tree-collected resin" (in en). Ecology and Evolution 7 (7): 2249–2254. doi:10.1002/ece3.2834. PMID 28405288. Bibcode2017EcoEv...7.2249B. 


Wikidata ☰ Q1282546 entry