2 Records

Status

Formica subintegra, a member of the Formica sanguinea species group, is a widespread dulotic ant species, found east of the Rockies through much of North America, virtually anywhere its hosts, members of the Formica fusca species group, occur. Newly-mated queens of this species seek out and enter colonies of Formica subsericea, overpower or otherwise dispatch the original queen, then use the original workers to raise her own brood of subintegra workers. Without reinforcements, the subsericea workforce would slowly die off, so the subintegra workers launch frequent raids to nearby colonies of the host species, where they steal worker pupae for their own colony. Raiding parties are a common sight on hot afternoons in summer, as tight groups of up to several hundred ants follow trails laid by scouts to a potential target colony. The subintegra pilfer the host nest of its worker pupae, carrying the spoils back to their own nest. These 'ant-napped' pupae emerge in the subintegra colony, treating it as their own native colony (Ellison et al., 2012).

Relationships

A social parasite of members of the Formica fusca species group, especially Formica subsericea.