''Formica paralugubris'' is a species of ant. It is a member of the

Formica rufa species group The ''Formica rufa'' group is a subgeneric group within the genus ''Formica'', first proposed by William Morton Wheeler. This group contains the mound-building species of ''Formica'' commonly termed "wood ants" or "thatch-mound ants", which buil ...

native to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. It is a

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, often miscategorized as ''

Formica lugubris ''Formica lugubris'', also known as the hairy wood ant is commonly found in wooded upland areas across northern Eurasia. Colonies construct large thatched mound nests occupied by thousands of workers, and one or more queens. Workers look similar ...

'' due to morphological similarities. The two species are capable of differentiating one another, however; ''F. paralugubris'' ants react aggressively towards ''F. lugubris'' ants.''Formica paralugubris'' differs in its organization as a

supercolony An ant supercolony is an exceptionally large ant colony, consisting of a high number of spatially separated but socially connected nests of a single ant species (meaning that the colony is polydomous), spread over a large area without territorial ...

. It has been introduced into North America with the import of pine trees. It does not exhibit characteristics found in other

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

due to its limited native range.

Ecology

Nestmates within a ''F. paralugubris'' colony can recognize each other. ''F. paralugubris'' worker ants are known to collect conifer

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

and place near their brood; this resin contains antimicrobial properties that the ants often modify by releasing formic acid onto the resin. Formic acid in combination with resin has antifungal properties.

References

paralugubris Insects described in 1996 Palearctic insects {{Formicinae-stub