Leptothorax pacis
| Leptothorax pacis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Leptothorax |
| Species: | L. pacis |
| Binomial name | |
| Leptothorax pacis (Kutter, 1945)
| |
This species is a workerless inquiline. 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 |
Contents
Identification
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Austria, Estonia, France, Germany, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Switzerland (type locality).
Distribution based on AntMaps
Distribution based on AntWeb specimens
Check data from AntWeb
Biology
An inquiline ant living within the nests of their host species Leptothorax acervorum, in sticks, pieces of bark and tree stumps in coniferous forests. The species is workerless and apparently host-queen tolerant.
The alate gynes practice female calling outside their natal nest. Mating takes place on the ground, often on top of the nest.
The three species L. pacis, Leptothorax kutteri and Leptothorax goesswaldi all are workerless, permanent parasites of Leptothorax acervorum.
Castes
Queen
Head view
Side view
Top view
Specimen labels
Male
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's New General Catalogue, a catalogue of the world's ants.
- pacis. Doronomyrmex pacis Kutter, 1945: 486, 3 figs. (q.) SWITZERLAND. Kutter, 1950c: 348 (m.). Included in Leptothorax: Heinze, 1998: 195 (combination not stated); combination in Leptothorax: Bolton, 2003: 270. See also: Buschinger, 1972: 169; Kutter, 1977c: 146.
Description
Karyotype
- n = 26 (France; Switzerland) (Buschinger & Fischer, 1991; Fischer, 1987) (as Doronomyrmex pacis).
References
- Blatrix R., Lebas C., Wegnez P., Galkowski C., Buschinger A., 2013. New data on the distribution of Leptothorax pacis and L. kutteri, two very rare parasitic ants, and confirmation of the presence of L. gredleri in France (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Revue de l’Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie, 22, 85-91 PDF
- Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 270, Combination in Leptothorax)
- Buschinger, A. 1972a. Kreuzung zweier sozialparasitischer Ameisenarten, Doronymyrmex pacis Kutter und Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger (Hym., Formicidae). Zool. Anz. 189: 169-179 (page 169, see also)
- Buschinger, A.; Ehrhardt, W.; Fischer, K. 1981. Doronomyrmex pacis, Epimyrma stumperi und E. goesswaldi (Hym., Formicidae) neu für Frankreich. Insectes Sociaux 28:67-70. [1981-03] PDF
- Buschinger, A. 2009. Social parasitism among ants: a review (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
- Heinze, J. 1998 [1995]. The origin of workerless parasites in Leptothorax (s. str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Camb.) 102: 195-214 (page 195, Included in Leptothorax (combination not stated))
- Kutter, H. 1945a. Ein neue Ameisengattung. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 19: 485-487 (page 486, 3 figs. queen described)
- Kutter, H. 1950c. Über Doronomyrmex und verwandte Ameisen. 2. Mitteilung. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 23: 347-353 (page 348, male described)
- Kutter, H. 1977c. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Insecta Helv. Fauna 6: 1-298 (page 146, see also)
