Formica kupyanskayae BOLTON, 1995

Seifert, Bernhard, 2021, A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants, Myrmecological News 31, pp. 133-179 : 163-164

Formica kupyanskayae BOLTON, 1995

Formica kupyanskayae BOLTON, 1995 [type investigation]

Replacement name for Formica opacus KUPYANSKAYA, 1980 that is a junior primary homonym of F. opaca NY- LANDER, 1856 (now in Camponotus MAYR, 1861 ).

Type material. Five paratype workers and two paratype gynes from the holotype sample labelled “ Primorye , Anisimovka , 12.7.1975 Kupyanskaya ”, “Paratypus Formica opaca Kupyanskaya ”; depository SMN Görlitz .

All material examined. Numeric phenotypical data were recorded in 10 nest samples with 41 workers and two gynes plus one isolated gyne. All these originated from Russian Far East. For details, see SI1, SI2, and SI3.

Geographic range. Known are 10 sites in the Ussuri River / Sichote Alin region and one site in Sakhalin. These eleven sites are situated at altitudes of only 180 ± 150 [40, 530] m which is clearly lower than in sympatric Formica ussuriensis sp.n. (ANOVA F 1,19 30.6, p <0.001).

Diagnosis of worker ( Tab. 2 , key). Large, mean and maximum CS over all social types 1745 and 2068 µm. Scape rather long but less slender than in Formica pratensis, SL / CS 1750 0.917, SL / Smax 1750 9.78. Petiole width medium, PeW / CS 1750 0.476. Setae on eyes long, EyeHL 1750 35µm; setae on dorsal plane of scape absent or very few, nSc 1750 0.68; setae on head margin behind eyes less numerous than in F. pratensis but rather long, nCH 1750 5.8, OccHL 1750 118 µm; gular setae always present and long, nGu 1750 7.0, GuHL 1750 217µm; pronotal setae moderately numerous and rather long, nPn 1750 18.9, mPnHL 1750 98µm, number of mesopleural, propodeal, and metanotal setae clearly smaller than in F. pratensis but of comparable length, nMes 1750 6.6, nPr 1750 9.0; mMet 1750 3.4, Methl 1750 198 µm. Pigmentation without specific characters.

Diagnosis of gyne ( Tab. 6 , Fig. 13 ). In many characters similar to Formica pratensis . Very large, mean and maximum CS 2348 and 2386 µm. Scape very long and slender, SL / CS 0.903, SL / Smax 9.66, absolute scape length> 2090 µm, exceeding data in other species. Setae on eyes long, EyeHL 44 µm; setae on head margin behind eyes much fewer and shorter than in F. pratensis , nCH 4.8, OccHL 1750 87µm; gular setae always present and long, nGu 9.3, GuHL 258µm; setae on pronotum very few and short, PnHL 56 µm; setae number on mesopleuron, metapleuron, petiole above spiracle, frontal face of first gaster tergite, and flexor profile of hind tibia lower than in F. pratensis , nMes 2.7, nMet 4.8, nPe 0.2, nGfr 2.3, nHT 2.5; setae length on metapleuron and frontal face of first gaster tergite shorter than in F. pratensis, MetHL 125 µm, GfrHL 44 µm. All body surfaces matt; dorsum of first gaster tergite with dense pubescence, well-developed transverse microripples, and narrowly spaced foveolae as bases of pubescence hairs, sqPDG 3.6, FodG 20.5 µm. Most surfaces light reddish brown; posterior dorsum of head and mesonotum dark reddish brown; scutellum, metanotum, and gaster blackish brown, except for light reddish brown frontal face of first gaster tergite.

Taxonomic comments and clustering results. Formica kupyanskayae is obviously the closest known relative of Formica pratensis but well separable. The 10 nest samples of F. kupyanskayae can be clearly separated from 76 nest samples of F. pratensis by all five exploratory data analyses considering the characters CS, CL / CW 1750, SL / CS 1750, nCH 1750, OccHL 1750, mPnHL 1750, nMet 1750, MetHL 1750, PeW / CS 1750, SL / Smax 1750, and nSc 1750 ( Fig.30 ). The classification error by an LDA using the same character set was 0.7% in 301 worker individuals. Gynes of the two species can be strongly separated by a PCA considering the characters SL / CS, GfrHL, nPe, nMet, and ML / CS.

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Habitat and biology. There are no data on habitat selection available except for one record reporting a probably monogynous nest found in a bushy grassland with groups of trees. This selection of an open habitat and distribution at low altitudes suggests that it is a rather thermophilous species – another character it shares with Formica pratensis .

Figures

Figs.5-13: (5-ussu) Formica ussuriensis sp.n., worker, holotype, head. (6-ussu) Formica ussuriensis sp.n., worker, holotype, lateral.(7-ussu) Formica ussuriensis sp.n., gyne, head; note the more trapezoid headshape.(8-aqui) Formica aquilonia, gyne, head; note the more rounded head shape.(9-prat) Formica pratensis, worker, neotype, head; note the more reticulate microsculpture of central vertex compared with Formica lugubris (Figs.14, 15), producing a matt surface appearance.(10-prat) Formica pratensis, worker, neotype, lateral aspect. (11-prat) Formica pratensis, gyne, P morph, lateral; almost no setae on head, mesosoma, and first gaster tergite. (12-prat) Formica pratensis, gyne, N morph, lateral; many setae on head, mesosoma, and first gaster tergite. (13-kupy) Formica kupyanskayae, gyne, head.

Fig.30: Principal component analysis of 10 nest samples of Formica kupyanskayae (white rhombs) and of 76nest samples of Formica pratensis (black dots). Ten phenotypic characters were considered.