Formica lateralis Olivier 1792

Seifert, Bernhard, 2019, A taxonomic revision of the members of the Camponotus lateralis species group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Europe, Asia Minor and Caucasia, Soil Organisms 91 (1), pp. 7-32 : 17

Formica lateralis Olivier 1792

It was described from woodland in the Provence / France. The original description seems to allow little more than to conclude on an ant of the subfamily Formicinae . However, Olivier reported a strong overall similarity with Crematogaster scutellaris in size and pigmentation pattern. This gives a reasonable suggestion that the described ant belongs to that color morph of Camponotus lateralis which occurs in the West and Central Mediterranean and mimics the pigmentation pattern of the aggressive and unpalatable Crematogaster scutellaris in order to achieve protective Batesian mimicry in a parabiotic association with this dominant species.