|
species
|
Formica fukaii
|
 |
Japanese Name
|
Tsuno-akayama-ari
|
Original Reference
|
|
Wheeler, W.M. (1914) Formica exsecta in Japan. Psyche 21: 26-27.
|
Synonym
|
|
Formica exsecta var. fukaii Wheeler, W.M., 1914,
Formica (Coptoformica) mesasiatica Dlussky, 1964,
Formica fukaii: Sonobe & Dlussky, 1977,
|
Description
|
|
Total length of workers around 4.5 - 6.5 mm. Head, mesosoma and petiole yellowish brown to reddish brown; crown of head, median dorsal area of pronotum, antennal scapes, and tibiae darker. Distinguishable from other species of Formica by the distinctly concave posterior border of the head. Dorsal border of petiole strongly concave at the center. No erect hairs on the head (except for the mandibles and clypeus), mesosoma, petiole or gastral tergites I and II.
|
Remarks
|
|
Females usually construct founding nests singly, but in some cases they are temporary parasites of F. japonica Motschoulsky (Kubota & Kondoh, 1954; Hayashida, 1963) or F. lemani Bondroit (Yamaoka, 1977). F. fukaii builds small mounds of dead grass and attends aphids and scale insects (Teranishi, 1934; Kono & Sugihara, 1939). It is the most westerly distributed of the red-colored Japanese Formica species, with many records from the Chugoku District. The westernmost collections are from Hiroshima and Tottori prefectures.
|
|
Distribution
|
|
Hokkaido, Honshu; Sakhalin, central Asia (a closely similar form collected in the Maritime Province of Siberia probably represents this species).
|
|
References
|
|
- Formica exsecta in Japan. Psyche 21: 26-27.
- Dlussky, G. M. 1964. The ants of the subgenus Coptoformica of the genus Formica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the USSR. [in Russian]. Zool. Zh., 43: 1026-1040.
- Sonobe, R. & G. M. Dlussky (1977). On two ant species of the genus Formica (Hymeoptera, Formicidae) from Japan. . Kontyu, 45, 23-25.
- Kubota, M. & M. Kondoh (1954). On the two red wood ants of Mt. Hakone. . Odawara-Seibutsu-Dokokai-shi, (5), 21-24. .
- Hayashida, K. (1963). Some analytical procedures on the ecological distribution of ants. . J. Sapporo Otani Junior College, 1, 1-26. .
- Yamaoka, H. (1977). An observation about Formica fukaii enslaving Formica lemani. Ari., (8), 3-4.
- Teranishi, C. (1934). On the distributions of Formica excecta var. fukaii Wheeler and its allied species. . Kansai Kontyu Zasshi, 2(2), 5-7. .
- Kono, H. & Y. Sugihara (1939). Die Formiciden im Tannen- und Fichtenwald im Japan. . Trans. Kansai Ent. Soc. , (8), 8-14. .
|
Editor
|
|
Original text by Rikio Sonobe and Keiichi Onoyama. English translation by Keiichi Onoyama, edited by Robert W. Taylor. Revised by Masashi Yoshimura.
|
|
