Formica sanguinea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slavemaker ant

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Genus: Formica
Species: F. sanguinea
Binomial name
Formica sanguinea
Latreille, 1798
with enslaved F. fusca
with enslaved F. fusca

Formica sanguinea, the slavemaker ant, also know as Raptiformica range from Central and Northern Europe through Russia to Japan, China, and the Korean Peninsula. They are colored red and black with workers up to 7 mm long.[1] Their common name comes from their practice of "enslaving" other species of ants.

A fertilized F. sanguinea queen will enter the nest of another ant species and kill their queen. She then takes advantage of the works who tend to her and her brood. F. sanguinea workers will also raid nearby nests, stealing larvae and pupae to become future workers for F. sanguinea.[2]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Sonobe, Rikio; Onoyama, Keiichi. Formica sanguinea. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  2. ^ Wood Ants (1999). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Languages