Myrmecia forficata

Myrmecia forficata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species:	M. forficata
Binomial name
Myrmecia forficata (Fabricius, 1787) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Myrmecia forficata rubra Forel, 1910 Myrmecia lucida Forel, 1893 Myrmecia simillima violacea Clark, 1927

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Myrmecia Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -16.46666667° to -43.42646937°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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.

Biology

Independent colony foundation is non-claustral (Wheeler 1933 p. 33).

Association with Other Organisms

 Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Austeucharis fasciiventris (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (primary host).
• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Austeucharis myrmeciae (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (primary host).
• This species is a host for the nematode Mermithidae (unspecified "Mermix") (a parasite) in Australia (Victoria) (Wheeler, 1933; Laciny, 2021).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Myrmecia lucida. Worker. Specimen code casent0907086. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

• forficata. Formica forficata Fabricius, 1787: 310 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Tasmania,).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • Type-locality: Australia: Tasmania (“Terra Diemanii” = Van Diemen’s Land).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Mayr, 1876: 95 (q.); Clark, 1927: 35 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 249 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 345 (k.).
  • Combination in Myrmecia: Fabricius, 1804: 424;
  • combination in Myrmica: Latreille, 1809: 131; Leach, 1815: 147;
  • combination in Eciton: Latreille, 1817c: 75;
  • combination in Myrmecia: Smith, F. 1858b: 143; Roger, 1861a: 33.
  • Status as species: Gmelin, 1790: 2803; Olivier, 1792: 501; Fabricius, 1793: 363; Latreille, 1802c: 216; Fabricius, 1804: 424; Latreille, 1809: 131; Leach, 1815: 147; Latreille, 1817c: 75; Smith, F. 1858b: 143; Roger, 1861a: 35; Mayr, 1862: 726 (in key); Roger, 1863b: 22; Mayr, 1863: 430; Mayr, 1876: 95; Emery, 1887b: 443; Dalla Torre, 1893: 20; Forel, 1910b: 2; Emery, 1911d: 20; Forel, 1913g: 173; Emery, 1914b: 179; Poulton & Crawley, 1922: 120; Clark, 1927: 35; Santschi, 1928e: 465; Clark, 1929: 120; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 31; Clark, 1951: 93 (redescription); Brown, 1953j: 28; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata, 1991a: 358; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1635 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Senior synonym of lucida: Clark, 1951: 93; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Senior synonym of rubra: Brown, 1953j: 28; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Senior synonym of violacea: Brown, 1953j: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• lucida. Myrmecia lucida Forel, 1893d: 457 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Tasmania).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia: Tasmania, Hobart (J.J. Walker).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 250 (l.).
  • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 20; Clark, 1927: 35.
  • Junior synonym of forficata: Clark, 1951: 93; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 272.
• rubra. Myrmecia forficata var. rubra Forel, 1910b: 3 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia: Victoria, Jarra district (W.W. Froggatt).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Clark, 1927: 36 (q.).
  • Subspecies of forficata: Emery, 1911d: 20; Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 20.
  • Status as species: Clark, 1927: 36; Clark, 1951: 98 (redescription).
  • Junior synonym of forficata: Brown, 1953j: 28; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 273.
• violacea. Myrmecia simillima var. violacea Clark, 1927: 37.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (numbers not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia: Victoria, Healesville (H.A. Arnold).
  • Type-depository: MHNG (possibly also in NHRS).
  • [First available use of Myrmecia forficata r. simillima var. violacea Forel, 1915b: 5 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria); unavailable (infrasubspecific) name (Taylor, 1986: 34).]
  • Subspecies of simillima: Santschi, 1928e: 465.
  • Junior synonym of rubra: Clark, 1951: 98.
  • Junior synonym of forficata: Brown, 1953j: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 271.

Type Material

• Myrmecia forficata: Syntype, worker(s), Yarra (as Jarra) district, Victoria, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Formica forficata: Holotype, worker, Tasmania, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
• Formica forficata: Holotype, worker, Tasmania, Australia, Zoologisk Museum, University of Copenhagen.
• Myrmecia lucida: Syntype, 1 worker, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Myrmecia simillima violacea: Syntype, worker(s), Healesville, Victoria, Australia.

Description

Karyotype

• 2n = 50, karyotype = 44M+6A (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977).
• 2n = 52 (Australia) (Hirai et al., 1996).
• 2n = 54 (Australia) (Hirai et al., 1996).
• 2n = 51 (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977).
• 2n = 52 (Australia) (Meyne et al., 1995).

References

• Ashton, D.H. 1979. Seed harvesting by ants in forests of Eucalyptus regnans F. Muell. in central Victoria. Australian Journal of Ecology 4:265-277.
• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1953j. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 111: 1-35 (page 28, Senior synonym of rubra (and its junior synonym violacea))
• Clark, J. 1927. The ants of Victoria. Part III. Vic. Nat. (Melb.) 44: 33-40 (page 35, male described)
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Fabricius, J. C. 1787. Mantissa insectorum sistens eorum species nuper detectas adiectis characteribus, genericis, differentiis, specificis, emendationibus, observationibus. Tome I. Hafniae [= Copenhagen]: C. G. Proft, 348 pp. (page 310, worker described)
• Fabricius, J. C. 1804. Systema Piezatorum secundum ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Brunswick: C. Reichard, xiv + 15-439 + 30 pp. (page 424, Combination in Myrmecia)
• Forel, A. 1913h. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195 (page 173, see also)
• Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
• Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 345, karyotype described)
• Mayr, G. 1876. Die australischen Formiciden. J. Mus. Godeffroy 12: 56-115 (page 95, queen described)
• Ogata, K.; Taylor, R. W. 1991. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a preliminary review and key to the named species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Journal of Natural History 25: 1623-1673 (page 1629, Senior synonym of lucida)
• Wheeler, G.C., Wheeler, J. 1971d. Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 47: 245-256 (page 249, larva described)
• Wheeler, W.M. 1933. Mermis parasitism in some Australian and Mexican ants. Psyche 40: 20-31.
• Wheeler, W.M. 1933i. Colony founding among ants, with an account of some primitive Australian species. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, viii + 179 pp. (page 31, see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Andersen A. N., T. D. Penman, N. Debas, and M. Houadria. 2009. Ant community responses to experimental fire and logging in a Eucalypt forest of south-eastern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 188-197.
• Andersen A.N., and M.E. McKaige. 1987. Ant communities at Rotamah Island, Victoria, with particular references to disturbance and Rhytidoponera tasmaniensis. Proc. R. Soc. Vict 99(4):141-146.
• Borgelt A., and T. R. New. 2005. Pitfall trapping for ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in mesic Australia: the influence of trap diameter. Journal of Insect Conservation 9: 219-221.
• Brown W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

111: 1-35.

• CSIRO Collection
• Clark J. 1927. The ants of Victoria. Part III. Victorian Naturalist (Melbourne) 44: 33-40.
• Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia (continuazione e fine). [concl.]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 25(5): 427-473.
• Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
• Emery C. 1914. Formiche d'Australia e di Samoa raccolte dal Prof. Silvestri nel 1913. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 179-186.
• Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia (continuazione e fine)." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 5, no. 25 (1887): 427-473.
• Forel A. 1893. Nouvelles fourmis d'Australie et des Canaries. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 37: 454-466.
• Forel A. 1910. Formicides australiens reçus de MM. Froggatt et Rowland Turner. Rev. Suisse Zool. 18: 1-94
• Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195
• Lowery B. B., and R. J. Taylor. 1994. Occurrence of ant species in a range of sclerophyll forest communities at Old Chum Dam, north-eastern Tasmania. Australian Entomologist 21: 11-14.
• Mann V. 2013. Using insect biodiversity to measure the effectiveness of on-farm restoration plantings. Master of Environmental Management at the School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania 111 pages.
• Poulton E. B., and W. C. Crawley. 1922. Notes on some Australian ants. Biological notes by E.B. Poulton, D.Sc., M.A., F.R.S., and notes and descriptions of new forms by W.C. Crawley, B.A., F.E.S., F.R.M.S. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine (3) 8: 118-126.
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.