Formica cinerea
Ash gray slave ant ( Formica cinerea)
The Ashen slave ant ( Formica cinerea) of the subfamily of ants scales ( Formicinae ) belongs to the genus of wood ants (Formica ) and there to the sub-genre of slave ants ( Serviformica ).
- 6.1 Notes and references
Features
The workers are 6-8 millimeters in size, the queens of up to 12 millimeters. Formica cinerea is colored dark gray, silvery and has reddish legs. This type can easily be confused with Formica fusca, Formica and Formica fuscocinerea selysi. The species of the cinerea group of species can be distinguished from other types of Serviformica next to the especially large eyes on the hair standing at the top rear edge. The distinction between the types is very difficult and only possible under the microscope. In South-East European steppe regions also exist amplified populations with dyed reddish mesosoma. Such populations may occasionally occur also in Central Europe.
Distribution and habitat
Formica cinerea lives in all of Europe. It comes from Spain to western Siberia and from Scandinavia to the Balkans. However, it is missing in the UK. In Germany it occurs everywhere, but especially in West Germany only being distributed locally. Its distribution center of gravity is located in Germany in the east, in Mecklenburg -Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Saxony -Anhalt and Saxony.
Formica cinerea is a typical pioneer of newly created, vegetation -free habitats such as Gravel pits and open pit mines, naturally well on sand and gravel banks of wild rivers, where they can reach enormous densities up to one colony per 10 square meters with nearly 2 outputs per square meter. They also colonized other areas with sandy or gravelly xerotherm ground as open sand dunes, beach areas and pine forests. You lack in continuous closed ground vegetation, even in heat beneficiary dry grasslands. For nesting also sunlit places are used, however, shady places are preferred. As a thermophilic species, they are found mainly in areas with a mild climate.
Biology
The nests are simple ground nests. It can form up to 30 cm long ramps to the nest outputs, similar to a " parking garage exit ." This is followed sometimes include up to 2 meters long, in-depth beaten track, which then usually serve as a connection to other nests. The nest founding is carried claustral. The swarming extends from June to August. Formica cinerea feeds zoophag of insects and arachnids, but also trophobiotically of honeydew. She hunts in the forest canopy, for example, Butterfly caterpillars. Formica cinerea holds from October to March a winter rest. This species is very aggressive and is therefore little used by other ant species as host species. But the case of direct encounters in habitat is wood ants (Formica s.str. ) Inferior to and avoid from these populated habitats. As an adaptation to open habitats, this species has good eyesight and can run very fast. Formica cinerea four acts to at least 100 meters from the nest.
The colonies are monogynous to moderately polygynous, where there are large differences between different local populations for genetic studies.
Formica cinerea is a host species of caterpillars of the Ida - Bläulings Plebejus idas.
Endangering
Formica cinerea is available in many areas on the Vorwarnlisten.
System
Formica cinerea, together with Formica fuscocinerea, Formica selysi, Formica and Formica georgica corsica the Formica cinerea group within the slave ants.
Synonyms
The following names are junior synonyms for Formica cinerea:
- Formica cinerea var imitans Ruzky, 1902
- Formica cinerea var armenica Ruzky, 1905
- Formica cinerea var subrufoides Forel, 1913
- Formica cinerea var cinereoglebaria Kulmaticky, 1922
- Formica cinerea var iberica Finzi, 1928
- Formica cinerea var italica Finzi, 1928
- Formica cinerea var Novaki Kratochvil, 1941
- Formica balcanina Petrov & Collingwood, 1993