Leptothorax faberi

Leptothorax faberi
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Leptothorax
Species:	L. faberi
Binomial name
Leptothorax faberi Buschinger, 1983

This species is an inquiline in the nest of an unidentified Leptothorax species. Queens live in the nest of a different ant species, have no workers and are entirely dependent on their hosts for food. The queens produce eggs that are cared for and raised to maturity by the host workers.

At a Glance

• Workerless Inquiline

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 52.873° to 52.664°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada (type locality), United States.

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.

Nomenclature

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

• faberi. Leptothorax faberi Buschinger, 1983: 198, figs. 1-5 (w.q.m.) CANADA. See also: Loiselle, Francoeur, Fischer & Buschinger, 1990: 329.

Description

Karyotype

• n = 15 (Canada) (Buschinger, 1982).
• n = 16 (Canada) (Fischer, 1987).

References

• Beibl, J., Stuart, R.J., Heinze, J., Foitzik, S. 2005. Six origins of slavery in formicoxenine ants. Insectes Sociaux 52, 291–297 (doi:10.1007/s00040-005-0808-y).
• Buschinger, A. 1983 [1982]. Leptothorax faberi n. sp., an apparently parasitic ant from Jasper National Park, Canada (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Camb.) 89: 197-209. (page 198, figs. 1-5 worker, queen, male described)
• Buschinger, A. 2009. Social parasitism among ants: a review (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
• Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
• Loiselle, R.; Francouer, A.; Fischer, K.; Buschinger, A. 1990. Variations and taxonomic significance of the chromosome numbers in the Nearctic species of the genus Leptothorax (s.s.) (Formicidae: Hymenoptera). Caryologia 43: 321-334 (page 329, see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Buschinger, A. 1982. Leptothorax faberi n.sp., an Apparently Parasitic Ant from Jasper National Park, Canada (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 89:197-210
• Buschinger, A. and A. Schulz. 2008. Leptothorax athabasca sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Alberta, Canada and ant with an apparently restricted range. Myrmecological News 11:243-248
• Heinze, J. 1995. The Origin of Workerless Parasites in Leptothorax (S. Str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102 (3-4) :195-214