![]() Many males from such isolated colonies in the Netherlands may have one or more coarse hairs protruding from the genae below the eyes and very occasionally queens may have very short sparse hairs on the basal face of the gaster but all such individuals have the widely spaced puncturation of true F. Average worker size of this form is generally large and samples are usually conspicuously hairy. This is the Formica rufa rufa of Gösswald (1941). rufa occurs in continental Europe and probably locally in Sweden but has never been found in England. New nests arise from colony splitting in the spring but occasionally single queens may secure adoption in nests of Formica fusca.Ī monogynous form of F. The first queen laid eggs develop into alate sexuals which fly off the nest early in the summer from May until early July. ![]() These ants mass in tight clusters on the top of the mound in the early spring sunshine. Prey is taken somewhat unselectively from both trees and forest floor with any insect, arthropod or earthworm taken back as food to the nest although the main diet as with all species of this group is aphid honey dew. Foraging trails radiating from a large nest may be up to 100 m or more usually orientated toward suitable aphid bearing trees. This is an aggressive acid squirting but somewhat clumsy species. Various estimates of numbers of workers in a populous nest range from 100,000 to 400,000. Nests may be isolated or in small groups, normally with many queens, up to 100 or more. Palaearctic Region: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uzbekistan.Ĭollingwood (1979) - This is the common wood ant of most of lowland Europe building large hill nests of leaves and twigs. Latitudinal Range: 69.968738° to 39.808536°.ĭistribution based on Regional Taxon Lists Key to Palaearctic species in the Formica rufa groupĭistribution Latitudinal Distribution Pattern.Key to Palaearctic Formica rufa group species.Funiculus segments two and three always less than twice as long as wide. Frons somewhat shining with widely spaced indistinct fine punctures and scattered coarse punctures: coarse and fine punctures widely spaced on disc of first gaster tergite. Frontal triangle reflecting light but often in part with micropunctures. Occasional to few suberect hairs on extensor surfaces of hind tibiae and femora. Long erect hairs more or less abundant on gula, clypeus, dorsum of head, alitrunk, scale and gaster but never on scape nor on posterior border of occiput. Eyes usually with a few microscopic hairs. Photo by Michal Kukla.īicoloured red and brownish black with variable degree of depth and size of dorsal dark patch on head and promesonotum. Queens start new colonies by parasitizing nests of other ants.įormica near rufa defending her nest. Their conspicuous nests make this a well known and recognizable ant for anyone that has spent time in European lowland forests. Formica rufa meridionalis Nasonov, 1889Ī common forest ant that makes large mound nests.Formica rufa rufopratensoides Forel, 1874.Formica rufa constricta Karavaiev, 1929.
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