Formica coloradensis

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Formica coloradensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Formica
Species group: rufa
Species: F. coloradensis
Binomial name
Formica coloradensis
Creighton, 1940

Formica coloradensis casent0104875 profile 1.jpg

Formica coloradensis casent0104875 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

This ant nests under logs and stumps or stones, or simply in mounds with thatching. Reproductives were found in nests in July, dealate females were collected in July and August. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Identification

The presence of bristly, short, erect hairs scattered over all surfaces of the tibiae, separate this species from most of the others in the rufa group. Formica coloradensis has a less protruding clypeus, with shallow tentorial pits. The minor worker has a red head, mesosoma and legs. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

United States: Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 44.596445° to 34.156971°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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.
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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.
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Habitat

For New Mexico (Mackay and Mackay 2002): Higher elevation forests (1600 - 3500 meters), oak forests, occasionally in meadows or near aspen-spruce forests.

Biology

Nest site selected in areas of moderate to heavy cover. Nest begun in or under a log or stump. Extensive use made of thatching. The finished nest considerably influenced by the size of the object in which it was started but, when this is small, a dome shaped nest results (Creighton, 1940)

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum nymphaeae (a trophobiont) (Jones, 1927; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • coloradensis. Formica rufa subsp. coloradensis Creighton, 1940a: 1, fig. 1 (w.q.) U.S.A. [First available use of Formica truncicola subsp. integroides var. coloradensis Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 440; unavailable name.] Subspecies of integroides: Creighton, 1950a: 489. Raised to species: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 81; Mackay, Lowrie, et al. 1988: 111 (in key).

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Cole A. C., Jr. 1942. The ants of Utah. American Midland Naturalist 28: 358-388.
  • Cole, A.C. 1936. An annotated list of the ants of Idaho (Hymenoptera; Formicidae). Canadian Entomologist 68(2):34-39
  • Creighton W. S. 1940. A revision of the North American variants of the ant Formica rufa. American Museum Novitates 1055: 1-10.
  • Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
  • Mackay W. P., and E. E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
  • Rees D. M., and A. W. Grundmann. 1940. A preliminary list of the ants of Utah. Bulletin of the University of Utah, 31(5): 1-12.
  • Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, vii + 138 pp.
  • 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 W. M. 1917. The mountain ants of western North America. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 52: 457-569.
  • Yensen, N.P., W.H. Clark and A. Francoeur. 1977. A checklist of Idaho Ants. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist 53:181-187