Formica pratensis

Formica pratensis, the black-backed meadow ant, is a species of European red wood ant in the family Formicidae.

Formica pratensis
Formica pratensis, worker
Formica pratensis. Queen, dorsal view

Near Threatened  (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Formicidae
Genus:
Formica
Species:
F. pratensis
Binomial name
Formica pratensis
Retzius, 1783
Synonyms
  • Formica pratensis var. nigricans Bondroit, 1912

Systematic

F. pratensis is divided into these subspecies:

  • F. p. nuda Ruzsky, 1926[1]
  • F. p. pratensis Retzius, 1783[2]
  • F. p. starkei Betrem, 1960[3]

A very similar species is F. nigropratensis Betrem 1962.[4] Another meadow ant, Formica nigricans Emery in 1909, was classified by Bernhard Seifert 1996 as an ecomorph of Formica pratensis.[5]

Description

F. pratensis can reach a length of 4.5–9.5 mm (0.18–0.37 in) in workers, slightly larger than in other species such as the more common southern wood ant F. rufa or F. polyctena. Queens reach a size of 9.5–11.3 mm (0.37–0.44 in).[6] The thorax is mainly reddish, while the abdomen and the top of the head are black or dark brown. Generally, this large ant is much darker than other species of wood ants. Their whole bodies are covered with fine hairs.[7] Two large deep black patch are present on the pronotum and mesonotum.[6] The legs, antennae, and the well-developed mouthparts are reddish or dark brown.

Formica pratensis, worker

Life cycle

Their nests are built from grasses, pine needles and straw, and can reach up to a meter in diameter. One nest can have either a single queen or very few. [6][7] Winged males and females can be present in nests from late April to September, as this species reflects the production of two separate generations.[8] The first generation of ants develop from late April to mid-July, the second generation from mid-August to late September.[7] This species mainly feeds on insects and other small animals, and collects honeydew from aphids.

Distribution

This species can be found in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the Ukraine. It is also present in the East Palearctic ecozone and in the Near East.[9][10] The species is extinct in the UK since 1988.[10][11] In forests weakened by pollution and acid rain in central Europe, red wood ant populations are often endangered for little known reasons which in turn causes further imbalances in predator-prey dynamics and the ecosystem.[10]

Habitat

This species is characteristic of rough alpine pastures, up to a height of about 1,500 meters. It can be found in dry heathland, meadows and roadsides.[8]

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References
  1. Catalogue of Life
  2. F. pratensis pratensis in Fauna europaea
  3. F. pratensis starkei in Fauna europaea
  4. Biolib
  5. B Seifert - 1992 Formica nigricans Emery, 1909 - An ecomorph of Formica pratensis
  6. "PLAZI". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  7. "Arkive". Archived from the original on 2014-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  8. Bees, Wasps & Ants Recording Society
  9. Distribution in Fauna europaea
  10. Social Insects Specialist Group 1996. Formica pratensis IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
  11. "Lost Life Project: Englands extinct species". Archived from the original on 2015-01-10. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  • Bolton, B. 1995. A New General Catalogue of the Ants of the World. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
  • Bolton, B.; Alpert, G.; Ward, P. S.; Naskrecki, P. 2007. Bolton's Catalogue of ants of the world: 1758-2005. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, CD-ROM
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