Key to Lasius of Crete

This worker key is based on: Salata, S., Borowiec, L. 2018. A new species of the ant genus Lasius Fabricius, 1804 from Crete (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 789: 139–159 (DOI 10.3897/zookeys.789.27022).

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• Lasius
• Ants of Greece

1

• Maxillary palps short, not reaching midpoint between mouth and occipital foramen, body yellow to orange . . . . . Lasius myops

• Maxillary palps long, distinctly reaching beyond midpoint between mouth and occipital foramen, body brown to black or bicoloured . . . . . 2

2

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• Scape, genae and hind tibiae only with perfectly adpressed pubescence, without setae, occipital margin of head usually with 8 erect setae at most . . . . . Lasius lasioides

• Scape, genae and hind tibiae often with occasional setae, pubescence not perfectly adpressed, occipital margin of head with more than 8 erect setae . . . . . 3

3

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• Scape with few (>5) erect setae, body bicoloured, hind tibiae with numerous erect setae, mesosoma brighter than head and gaster . . . . . Lasius illyricus

• Scape without or with maximum 5 erect setae, hind tibiae without or with a few erect setae, body uniformly coloured or head and mesosoma uniformly coloured, brighter than gaster . . . . . 4

4

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• Clypeus with dense pubescence, average distance between setae 3.5 times shorter than their length . . . . . Lasius bombycina

• Clypeus with sparse pubescence, average distance between setae equal or longer than a half of their length . . . . . 5

5

return to couplet #4

• Workers small, ML 0.726–0.827 mm, mesosoma with very shallow metanotal groove, apical part of scape with >5 suberect to erect setae . . . . . Lasius tapinomoides

• Workers larger, ML 0.935–1.18 mm, metanotal groove distinct, apical part of scape without or with <5 suberect to erect setae . . . . . 6

6

return to couplet #5

• Metanotal groove relatively shallow, propodeal dorsum flattened, hind tibia usually without suberect setae, number of mandibular dents < 7.7 . . . . . Lasius turcicus

• Metanotal groove deeper and sharp, propodeal dorsum convex, hind tibia with few suberect setae, number of mandibular dents >7.7 . . . . . Lasius psammophilus