Map Snapshot
50 Records
Status
An abundant and familiar ant species across much of North America east of the Rocky Mts., Formica subsericea is found throughout Maryland, in a wide variety of habitats, from open forest, to brushy fields, to suburban yards. All but the most urbanized places likely have populations of this ant. Colonies are usually in soil, and are often marked by a large, flat area of excavated soil on the top, sometimes even resembling a low mound (Ellison et al., 2012).
Description
Note slightly silky sheen and rounded rear of head (J. Trager/BugGuide).
Relationships
This ant is a frequent host for a number of social parasites in the genus Formica. In the Formica sanguinea species group, Formica pergandei, F. rubicunda, and F. subintegra frequently enslave this species by stealing brood, which they use to increase the workforce of their own colonies (a behavior known as dulosis). All of the aforementioned ants may also use young colonies of subsericea to found new colonies, by dispatching the subsericea queen and taking over the colony (a condition known as temporary social parasitism). Formica exsectoides also sometimes uses this species to found new colonies.
Seasonality Snapshot
Source: Wikipedia
| Formica subsericea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Formica subsericea worker | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Genus: | Formica |
| Species: | F. subsericea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Formica subsericea Say, 1836
| |
Formica subsericea, colloquially known as the black field ant, is a species of ant in the genus Formica.[1][2] It is found in the eastern United States and Canada. Workers of this species are incredibly fast and quite timid. Workers of this species are commonly found working as slaves in Polyergus colonies. Nuptial flights typically occur in July or August. It is often confused with another Formica species, Formica fusca.[3] The larvae of Microdon megalogaster, a member of the ant fly genus, have been observed in the nests of these ants. The inquiline relationship of these fly larvae is not well understood.[4][5]
References
[edit]- ^ Watschke, Thomas L.; Dernoeden, Peter H.; Shetlar, David J. (16 April 2013). Managing Turfgrass Pests, Second Edition. CRC Press. p. 452. ISBN 978-1-4665-5507-5.
- ^ Bolton, B. (2015). "Formica subsericea". AntCat. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ Francoeur, A. (1973). "Révision taxonomique des espèces néarctiques du groupe fusca, genre Formica (Formicidae, Hymenoptera)". Mémoires de la Société Entomologique du Québec (in French). 3: 1–316.
- ^ Curran, Charles Howard (1925). "Contribution to a monograph of the American Syrphidae north of Mexico". The Kansas University Science Bulletin. 15: 7–216.
- ^ Heiss, Elizabeth Madeleine (1938). "A classification of the larvae and puparia of the Syrphidae of Illinois exclusive of aquatic forms". Series: Illinois Biological Monographs. 16: 1–142.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Formica subsericea at Wikimedia Commons
