Formica lugubris
Starkbeborstete mountain wood ant (Formica lugubris )
The Starkbeborstete mountain wood ant (Formica lugubris ) belongs to the genus of wood ants (Formica ) in the subfamily of ants scales ( Formicinae ).
Features
The body has the typical red ants red - black coloring. The occipital ring bears a protruding, often long hair and the head base is occupied with a number of protruding hairs. Also the mesosoma with dense coat stand-off. The two black spots on the pronotum and mesonotum appear clearly different in size and blurred bounds. The workers are 4.5 to 9 millimeters long. The Stielcheglied ( petiole ) wearing longer hair than the Schwachbeborsteten mountain forest ant ( Formica Aquilonia ) and the stray hairs on the pronotum are longer than in the Swiss Mountain wood ant (Formica paralugubris ). A distinction between these two types is very difficult.
Distribution and habitat
The huge distribution area extends across the boreal zone of the British Isles to Kamchatka. In Europe, this species of ant is also represented in the mountains, such as the Pyrenees, the Vosges, the Massif Central, the Alps up to 2400 meters altitude, in the Carpathians, in the Bavarian Forest and the Black Forest. The Starkbeborstete mountain forest ant inhabited montane mixed forests and thereby higher altitude subalpine forest types. In contrast to the other mountain ants Formica Formica Aquilonia and paralugubris it penetrates to the forest border in the krummholz belt.
Way of life
This ant is monogyne to highly polygynous / polydome States, the colony type region varies greatly. So, however, are the States of Finland always monogyn Monodom in the Bernese Alps often polygynous and polydom. At high population densities, these dominant species displaces all other Formica species. The reproductives swarm between mid-May and mid-July. In monogynous nests propagation usually takes place via Lemani swarm flight and sozialparasitäre nest founding in Formica. In polygynous nests willingness to spread flight decreases. Copulation is then often in or on the nest place, and the young queens are adopted from the parent nest.