1/17/2024 0 Comments Red antsThe microgynes are also known to act as an alternative reproductive morph and found their own colonies. While the roles of these microgynes are not yet fully understood, they are often found in nests with regular queens and this is believed to be a form of intraspecific parasitism where the microgyne are a social parasite of the larger macrogyne. More recent DNA analysis suggest that they share a gene pool with the macrogyne and are therefor not a different species. These queens are smaller in size compared to the macrogyne and were previously believed to be a different species of social parasite ( M. In addition to the regular queens (macrogynes), M. No nuptial flights have been witnessed yet from this species where it is living in North America, however male-only mating swarms have been recorded in Newfoundland, Canada. Afterwards, the males die and the queens shed their wings to make a new colony. Hundreds of young queens and males take to the air to mate together. Nuptial flights take place normally in late July to mid-August in Europe. The species is also polydomous, with many nest sites per individual colony. These queens will have gathered together after their nuptial flight, formed a nest and laid their eggs in it. This ant's colonies have a polygyne form and can include up to one hundred queens per nest. They have long projecting hairs on their tibiae and tarsi, this is the easiest way to tell them apart from M. Males have a darker body colour compared to the queens and workers. These queens are smaller in size more comparable to that of the workers. While it is still somewhat unknown, it is believed that there is another reproductive morph referred to as microrubra that was formerly believed to be a social parasite of M. Queens are similar to workers with larger thorax to store wing muscles. Have smooth and shiny frontal triangle and subspinal areas long and slender antennal scapes. Workers are yellowish brown in colour, 3.5 to 5.5 mm in length. They also consume pollen, a phenomenon rarely documented in ants of the temperate zone. They will attack any creature that disturbs their nest, but are not as aggressive as the red imported fire ant. They live on a diet of honeydew excreted by aphids and feed on many types of insect and other invertebrates. These ants are very common in Europe and the UK and live in meadows and gardens. It has also been introduced to North America in northwestern and northeastern United States and in western Canada, where it is considered an invasive species. It occurs in the region stretching from Portugal to East Siberia (as far as Transbaikalia), and from northern Greece to the forest-tundra zone in the North. This is one of the most common and widespread Myrmica species of the Palaearctic. The larvae of the butterflies Phengaris alcon (Alcon blue) and P. They are aggressive, often attacking rather than running away, and are equipped with a stinger, though they lack the ability to spray formic acid like the genus Formica. These ants live under stones and fallen trees, and in soil. It is mainly red in colour, with slightly darker pigmentation on the head. Myrmica rubra, also known as the common red ant or erroneously the European fire ant, is a species of ant of the genus Myrmica, found all over Europe and is now invasive in some parts of North America and Asia.
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