Formica criniventris

Formica criniventris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Formica
Species group:	rufa
Species:	F. criniventris
Binomial name
	Formica criniventris; Wheeler, W.M., 1912 Specimen labels
Synonyms
	Formica crinita Wheeler, W.M., 1909;

These ants usually nest under stones and build thatched nests around the stone. It may enslave Formica argentea or Formica neoclara.

Identification

This is an attractive, bicolored ant (head and mesosoma red, gaster black), in which the mid and hind tibiae normally have only 1 or 2 erect or suberect hairs, located near the apices of the tibiae. The scapes are without erect hairs (except at the apex). The clypeal fossa is shallow and the surface of the clypeus is broadly convex. The suberect hairs on the gaster are widely scattered and sparse. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Keys including this Species

Key to Nearctic species in the Formica rufa group

Distribution

United States: Montana and North Dakota, south Colorado and New Mexico.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 48.63° to 34.02866667°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Habitat

Forested areas, open meadows.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

crinita. Formica crinita Wheeler, W.M. 1909e: 87 (w.q.) U.S.A. [Junior primary homonym of crinita Smith, F. 1858b: 13, above.] Replacement name: criniventris Wheeler, W.M. 1912c: 90. [Formica crinita Wheeler, W.M. 1908g: 408. Nomen nudum.]
criniventris. Formica criniventris Wheeler, W.M. 1912c: 90. Replacement name for crinita Wheeler, W.M., above. [Junior primary homonym of crinita Smith, F. 1858b: 13.]

Description

References

Mackay, W. P. and E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY.
Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 13, junior primary homonym of crinita)
Wheeler, W. M. 1912c. New names for some ants of the genus Formica. Psyche (Camb.) 19: 90 (page 90, replacement name for crinita)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Allred D. M. 1982. Ants of Utah. The Great Basin Naturalist 42: 415-511.
Allred, D.M. 1982. The ants of Utah. Great Basin Naturalist 42:415-511.
Beck D. E., D. M. Allred, W. J. Despain. 1967. Predaceous-scavenger ants in Utah. Great Basin Naturalist 27: 67-78
Borchert, H.F. and N.L. Anderson. 1973. The Ants of the Bearpaw Mountains of Montana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 46(2):200-224
Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
Lavigne R., and T. J. Tepedino. 1976. Checklist of the insects in Wyoming. I. Hymenoptera. Agric. Exp. Sta., Univ. Wyoming Res. J. 106: 24-26.
Mackay W. P. and Mackay, E. E. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
Shattuck S. O. 1985. Illustrated key to ants associated with western spruce budworm. United States Department of Agriculture. Agriculture Handbook 632: 1-36.
Trager J. Distributions of Nearctic Formica rufa group species. Personal communication 05 February 2014.
Wheeler G. C., and E. W. Wheeler. 1944. Ants of North Dakota. North Dakota Historical Quarterly 11:231-271.
Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1987. A Checklist of the Ants of South Dakota. Prairie Nat. 19(3): 199-208.
Wheeler W. M. 1913. A revision of the ants of the genus Formica (Linné) Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 53: 379-565.
Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1988. A checklist of the ants of Montana. Psyche 95:101-114
Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1988. A checklist of the ants of Wyoming. Insecta Mundi 2(3&4):230-239
Yensen, N.P., W.H. Clark and A. Francoeur. 1977. A checklist of Idaho Ants. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 53:181-187