field ants
(Formica pallidefulva group)
Overview • Description • Distribution • Taxonomy
Overview |
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Formica pallidefulva group is one of seven informal groups of Formica species based on distinctive colors, forms, and behavioral characteristics that can be easily seen in the field. Those characteristics include the shape of the head and the clypeus, whether the color of the head and front part of the body (mesosoma) is the same color as the rear part of the body (gaster), and whether there is a conspicuous silver sheen on the body. |
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There are five species in the Formica pallidefulva group, all of them occurring only in eastern and central United States and in southern Quebec and Ontario Canada. Three of the species occur in Minnesota. Most Formica pallidefulva group species inhabit grasslands, open woodlands, old fields, and disturbed areas. The one exception is the species Formica pallidefulva, which is also found in closed canopy forests. |
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Description |
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Formica pallidefulva group ants are large, slender, yellowish-red to dark brown, and moderately to strongly shiny. When viewed from the front the head is noticeably rounded. When viewed from the side, the last part of the thorax (propodeum) is rounded, not angled. The legs are very long. |
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Distribution |
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Sources Guénard, B., Weiser, M., Gomez, K., Narula, N., Economo, E.P. (2017) The Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) database: a synthesis of ant species geographic distributions. Myrmecological News 24: 83-89. Janicki, J., Narula, N., Ziegler, M., Guénard, B. Economo, E.P. (2016) Visualizing and interacting with large-volume biodiversity data using client-server web-mapping applications: The design and implementation of antmaps.org. Ecological Informatics 32: 185-193. |
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| 11/15/2022 | ||||
Taxonomy |
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Order |
Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies) | ||
Suborder |
Apocrita (narrow-waisted wasps, ants, and bees) | ||
Infraorder |
Aculeata (ants, bees, and stinging wasps) | ||
Superfamily |
Formicoidea (ants) | ||
Family |
Formicidae (ants) | ||
Subfamily |
Formicinae | ||
Tribe |
Formicini (wood, mound, field ants, and allies) | ||
Genus |
Formica (wood, mound, and field ants) | ||
Subordinate Taxa |
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pale field ant (Formica pallidefulva) skull-collecting ant (Formica archboldi) uncertain field ant (Formica incerta) Wilson’s field ant (Formica biophilica) wily field ant (Formica dolosa) |
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Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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field ant (Formica pallidefulva group) |
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Glossary
Clypeus
On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).
Gaster
The bulbous part of the abdomen of ants, bees, and wasps. In ants it usually begins at segment three.
Mesosoma
In Hymenoptera: the front part of the body, consisting of all three segments of the thorax and the first segment of the abdomen, to which the wings are attached.
Propodeum
In Hymenoptera: the last segment of the thorax, anatomically the first segment of the abdomen.
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Greg Watson |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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| Formica sp. - pallidefulva group Ian Marsman |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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| Formica pallidefulva-group excavate nest Atlantic Ants |
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About
Oct 7, 2021 I forgot my macro lens |
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Visitor Sightings |
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| Greg Watson 8/26/2022 |
Location: Eagles Bluff Park in La Crescent |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 11/15/2022
Last Updated: