''Lasius emarginatus'' is a species of

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

formicine The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development. Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and little ...

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

Description

''Lasius emarginatus'' is a small ant, reaching a length of 3–5.5 mm in the workers, 7–10 mm in the females and 7–14.5 mm in males. In workers and females the thorax is reddish or brownish-red, while the head and the abdomen are brown. Males are completely brown. The longevity of the queen reaches up to 30 years, but for workers it is limited to 3 years. The species is omnivore. Colonies are monogynous (one queen per colony). They are not aggressive but they do not mind attacking a potential predator or another colony to expand their hunting and harvesting territory.

Distribution

This species is present in the

Western Palearctic The Western Palaearctic or Western Palearctic is part of the Palaearctic realm, one of the eight biogeographic realms dividing the Earth's surface. Because of its size, the Palaearctic is often divided for convenience into two, with Europe, North ...

(

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

). As an invasive species, it is now found in Manhattan where it has taken on the niche of above-ground-level floors in taller buildings.In N.Y.C. Apartments, the Ants Go Marching Up
by Dodai Stewart, the ''New York Times''. 10 July 2022. Accessed 10 July 2022.

Colony founding

The nuptial flight happens between June and August. Although normal independent colony foundation is usual, it can also be achieved through

Pleometrosis Pleometrosis is a behavior observed in social insects where colony formation is initiated by multiple queens primarily by the same species of insect. This type of behavior has been mainly studied in ants but also occurs in wasps, bees, and termite ...

, a process in which several queens work together to get the colony started, but eventually the future workers will kill or drive away all queens but the dominant one.

References

* Olivier, 1792 : Encyclopédie Méthodique. Histoire Naturelle, ou Histoire Naturelle des Crustacés, des Arachnides et des Insectes]
Fauna Europaea

External links

* Lasius, emarginatus Insects described in 1792 Hymenoptera of Europe Hymenoptera of Asia {{formicinae-stub