2 Records

Status

Formica biophilica, a recently-described member of the pallidefulva group, is a denizen of open habitats, including fields and prairies, to open woods, to wet meadows, bogs, and marshes. Trager (2007) characterizes the habitats as generally mesic (moderately wet) to hydric (very wet), but it appears to be absent from very xeric (dry) habitats. In seasonally wet habitats, the nests may extend into grass or sedge tussocks above the water line. In the northern portion of the range, may be found into drier grassland sites than in the south. The species name references the popular term "biophilia," coined by eminent myrmecologist E.O. Wilson, meaning the propensity of humans to love and appreciate other life forms. (Trager, 2007).

Relationships

Apparently occasionally enslaved by Formica pergandei. Host species to the newly described Polyergus ruber, which occurs in Maryland.