Formica obscuriventris

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Formica obscuriventris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Formica
Species group: rufa
Species: F. obscuriventris
Binomial name
Formica obscuriventris
Mayr, 1870

Formica-obscuriventris-MCZ001L.jpg

Formica-obscuriventris-MCZ001D.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

This species nests under logs or stones, usually partially covered with thatch. It is a host for the slave-makers Formica pergandei and Formica rubicunda.

Photo Gallery

  • Foraging worker. Photo by Tom Murray.
  • Colony under a stone. Photo by Gary D. Alpert.
  • Workers tending Chaitophorus aphids on a poplar sapling, Door Co. Wisconsin. Photo by James Trager.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Southern Canada and New England southward to Virginia and thence westward to the Pacific.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 54.39972222° to 34.156971°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada, 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.
pChart

Biology

Syrphidae in the genus Microdon are predators on ant brood within the nest.

Microdon pupal case - Photo by Gary D. Alpert

Nevada, Wheeler and Wheeler (1986) - Our 48 records are widely scattered in that part of the state north of the Hot Desert boundary (with 1 exception); they represent 39 localities; 5,600-10,000 ft. Nine of these records were from the Cool Desert, 8 from the Pinyon-Juniper Biome, 6 from the Coniferous Forest, and 1 from the Alpine Biome. Our remarks about the nest of Formica obscuripes apply to F. obscuriventris but the latter seemed to produce more variants. The same applied to behavior, except that F. obscuriventris was more prone to send out foraging columns. Formica obscuriventris was found tending the aphid, Aphis filifoliae (Homoptera: Aphididae; det. L.M. Russell), on Pinus monophylla at Lehman Caves Nat. Mon., White Pine Co., 6,800 ft.

Nest site selected in areas of moderate to sparse cover. Nest begun under log or stone with many of the passages running into the soil. Moderate use made of thatching, often little of this visible on the outside of the nest. Large domes or heaps of thatching rarely produced (Creighton, 1940).

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a host for the cricket Myrmecophilus pergandei (a myrmecophile) in United States.
  • This species is a host for the braconid wasp Elasmosoma michaeli (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
  • This species is a host for the braconid wasp Elasmosoma sp. (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
  • This species is a prey for the Microdon fly Microdon cothurnatus (a predator) (Quevillon, 2018).
  • This species is a prey for the Microdon fly Microdon piperi (a predator) (Quevillon, 2018).

Flight Period

X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: monogynous (Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Formica obscuriventris casent0104769 head 1.jpgFormica obscuriventris casent0104769 profile 1.jpgFormica obscuriventris casent0104769 dorsal 1.jpgFormica obscuriventris casent0104769 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0104769. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • obscuriventris. Formica truncicola var. obscuriventris Mayr, 1870b: 951 (w.) U.S.A.
    • Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 446 (q.m.).
    • Subspecies of rufa: Mayr, 1886d: 426; Emery, 1893i: 649; Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 16; Wheeler, W.M. 1908f: 623; Wheeler, W.M. 1908g: 408; Creighton, 1940a: 1, 8 (in key); Smith, M.R. 1951a: 870.
    • Subspecies of truncicola: Dalla Torre, 1893: 214; Wheeler, W.M. 1913c: 116; Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 445 (redescription); Wheeler, W.M. 1916m: 597; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 540; Wheeler, W.M. 1917i: 464.
    • Status as species: Creighton, 1950a: 493; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1460; Allred, 1982: 472; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 84; Bolton, 1995b: 200; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 358; Coovert, 2005: 150; Ellison, et al. 2012: 166.
    • Senior synonym of dryas: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 446.
    • Senior synonym of gymnomma: Creighton, 1950a: 493.
    • Senior synonym of clivia: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 16.
  • clivia. Formica rufa subsp. clivia Creighton, 1940a: 8, 8 (in key), fig. 1 (w.q.m.) U.S.A.
    • Subspecies of rufa: Cole, 1942: 380; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 868.
    • Subspecies of obscuriventris: Creighton, 1950a: 494; Cole, 1954c: 165; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1460; Bolton, 1995b: 193; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 358.
    • Junior synonym of obscuriventris: Shattuck & Cover, 2016: 16.
  • dryas. Formica dryas Wheeler, W.M. 1905c: 268 (w.q.) U.S.A.
    • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 17.
    • Junior synonym of obscuriventris: Wheeler, W.M. 1913f: 446.
  • gymnomma. Formica dryas var. gymnomma Wheeler, W.M. 1905c: 269 (w.) U.S.A.
    • Subspecies of dryas: Wheeler, W.M. 1906b: 17.
    • Subspecies of rufa: Creighton, 1940a: 3, 8 (in key); Smith, M.R. 1951a: 868.
    • Junior synonym of obscuriventris: Creighton, 1950a: 493; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1461.

Type Material

Description

References

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.
  • Buren W. F. 1944. A list of Iowa ants. Iowa State College Journal of Science 18:277-312
  • Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's Thesis Purdue university, 385 pages.
  • Carroll T. M. 2011. The ants of Indiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Master's thesis Purdue University.
  • Cole A. C., Jr. 1942. The ants of Utah. American Midland Naturalist 28: 358-388.
  • Coovert G. A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ohio Biological Survey, Inc. 15(2): 1-207.
  • Coovert, G.A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series Volume 15(2):1-196
  • Creighton W. S. 1940. A revision of the North American variants of the ant Formica rufa. American Museum Novitates 1055: 1-10.
  • Davis W. T., and J. Bequaert. 1922. An annoted list of the ants of Staten Island and Long Island, N. Y. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 17(1): 1-25.
  • Del Toro, I. 2010. PERSONAL COMMUNICATION. MUSEUM RECORDS COLLATED BY ISRAEL DEL TORO
  • Dubois, M.B. and W.E. Laberge. 1988. An Annotated list of the ants of Illionois. pages 133-156 in Advances in Myrmecology, J. Trager
  • Ellison A. M., and E. J. Farnsworth. 2014. Targeted sampling increases knowledge and improves estimates of ant species richness in Rhode Island. Northeastern Naturalist 21(1): NENHC-13–NENHC-24.
  • Emery C. 1893. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der nordamerikanischen Ameisenfauna. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 7: 633-682.
  • Glasier J. R. N., S. E. Nielsen, J. Acorn, and J. Pinzon. 2019. Boreal sand hills are areas of high diversity for Boreal ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Diversity 11, 22; doi:10.3390/d11020022.
  • Glasier J. R. N., S. Nielsen, J. H. Acorn, L. H. Borysenko, and T. Radtke. 2016. A checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Saskatchewan. The Canadian Field-Naturalist 130(1): 40-48.
  • Gregg R. E. 1945 (1944). The ants of the Chicago region. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 37: 447-480
  • Gregg, R.T. 1963. The Ants of Colorado.
  • Guénard B., K. A. Mccaffrey, A. Lucky, and R. R. Dunn. 2012. Ants of North Carolina: an updated list (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3552: 1-36.
  • Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87.
  • Ivanov K., L. Hightower, S. T. Dash, and J. B. Keiper. 2019. 150 years in the making: first comprehensive list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Virginia, USA. Zootaxa 4554 (2): 532–560.
  • Jeanne R. J. 1979. A latitudinal gradient in rates of ant predation. Ecology 60(6): 1211-1224.
  • Kannowski P. B. 1956. The ants of Ramsey County, North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist 56(1): 168-185.
  • Lidgren, B.S. and A.M. MacIsaac. 2002. A Preliminary Study of Ant Diversity and of Ant Dependence on Dead Wood in Central Interior British Columbia. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181.
  • Lindgren, B.S. and A.M. MacIsaac. 2002. Ant dependence on dead wood in Central Interior British Columbia. USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep.PSW-GTR-181
  • Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
  • Lynch J. F. 1988. An annotated checklist and key to the species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Maryland Naturalist 31: 61-106
  • MacGown, J.A. and JV.G. Hill. Ants of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina).
  • Mackay W. P., and E. E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
  • Mackay, W., D. Lowrie, A. Fisher, E. Mackay, F. Barnes and D. Lowrie. 1988. The ants of Los Alamos County, New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). pages 79-131 in J.C. Trager, editor, Advances in Myrmecololgy.
  • Merle W. W. 1939. An Annotated List of the Ants of Maine (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological News. 50: 161-165
  • Ouellette G. D., F. A. Drummond, B. Choate and E. Groden. 2010. Ant diversity and distribution in Acadia National Park, Maine. Environmental Entomology 39: 1447-1556
  • Procter W. 1938. Biological survey of the Mount Desert Region. Part VI. The insect fauna. Philadelphia: Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, 496 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.
  • Sturtevant A. H. 1931. Ants collected on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Psyche (Cambridge) 38: 73-79
  • Talbot M. 1976. A list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Edwin S. George Reserve, Livingston County, Michigan. Great Lakes Entomologist 8: 245-246.
  • Trager J. Distributions of Nearctic Formica rufa group species. Personal communication 05 February 2014.
  • Wang C., J. Strazanac and L. Butler. 2000. Abundance, diversity and activity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oak-dominated mixed Appalachian forests treated with microbial pesticides. Environmental Entomology. 29: 579-586
  • Wheeler G. C., J. N. Wheeler, and P. B. Kannowski. 1994. Checklist of the ants of Michigan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The Great Lakes Entomologist 26(4): 297-310
  • Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1986. The ants of Nevada. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, vii + 138 pp.
  • Wheeler G. C., and J. Wheeler. 1987. A Checklist of the Ants of South Dakota. Prairie Nat. 19(3): 199-208.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1905. New species of Formica. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 267-274.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1908. The ants of Casco Bay, Maine, with observations on two races of Formica sanguinea Latreille. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24: 619-645.
  • 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. 1916. Formicoidea. Formicidae. Pp. 577-601 in: Viereck, H. L. 1916. Guide to the insects of Connecticut. Part III. The Hymenoptera, or wasp-like insects, of Connecticut. Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey. Bulletin 22: 1-824.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1928. Ants of Nantucket Island, Mass. Psyche (Cambridge) 35: 10-11.
  • Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1978. Mountain ants of Nevada. Great Basin Naturalist 35(4):379-396
  • 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
  • Wheeler, G.C., J. Wheeler and P.B. Kannowski. 1994. CHECKLIST OF THE ANTS OF MICHIGAN (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE). Great Lakes Entomologist 26:1:297-310
  • Wing M. W. 1939. An annotated list of the ants of Maine (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological News 50:161-165.