Myrmica slovaca

Myrmica slovaca worker

This is further evidence that my large backlog of ant specimens really needs dealing with!

This specimen is clearly Myrmica slovaca, due to the narrow frons, scape and petiole shape. It was previously erroneously regarded as M. salina in Europe, but this was recently resolved by Radchenko and Elmes (2010), who found that it is quite different from true M. salina. Even so, the name may still be subject to some change, as Seifert (2011) suggests that M. curvithorax is the senior synonym. Currently, according to AntWeb, M. slovaca is still considered to be the correct name.

As far as I've been able to find out, M. slovaca was previously recorded only once in France (as M. salina) at Pont-à-Mousson in 2005, which is situated at approximately 6.03° E and was considered to be the western limit of the species range. This would make my collection, at 5°20.055'E, the new western extent of the species' range. Of course, there may now be other records of this species from France and I would be very pleased to receive further information.

You have to wonder though... I collected this in a rather unpromising looking motorway service station. Seifert (2007) notes the species' high tolerance for changes in humidity, temperature and soil salinity. Is it possible that it is being transported by people and its wide tolerance allows it to colonise a variety of sites? It certainly seems incredible that such a distinctive species had never been recorded in France before 2005.

Bothriomyrmex corsicus

Bothriomyrmex corsicus worker

It's been a long time since I've posted anything (the effect of getting married and renovating a house). I thought that this was worth breaking a three year habit.

By all accounts, Bothriomyrmex species seem to be pretty uncommon, so I'm pleased that the first one I found is the second, not the first, most common in Europe. Bothriomyrmex taxonomy was in a very confusing state, so these specimens previously keyed out as B. menozzii, but thanks to Seifert (2012) the picture is clearer. I can now say with certainty that they are B. corsicus (Seifert could not find B. laticeps type material, but my specimens didn't fit Emery's (1925) description of laticeps anyway, based upon the length of the antennal segments).

The European species of Bothriomyrmex are temporary social parasites of Tapinoma species. It is likely that invading queens of all Bothriomyrmex species kill the host queen, decapitating them with specialised mandibles, after which they become very physogastric (i.e. they swell with eggs).

I didn't collect any B. corsicus queens, but did collect a male. Unfortunately, the male was a bit mangled when it came out of the tube and did not mount very well, so wouldn't make a good photomontage.

These ants were found under a stone in south-facing subalpine grassland near Venanson, in the Alpes-Maritimes, France, not very far from other locations listed by Seifert (2012). What was perhaps most interesting was that the stone also covered a very large colony of Solenopsis fugax. This suggests that the S. fugax may have been stealing brood from the B. corsicus. S. fugax is known to raid Formica (Serviformica) and Lasius nests, and I have found them alongside Camponotus ligniperda, but I wonder whether there are any records of them stealing brood from Bothriomyrmex or any other Dolichoderine ants.

Agapanthia villosoviridescens

Last week I was on a canal boat holiday. The highlight of the whole trip (in my mind) was this beetle, Agapanthia villosoviridescens, which was photographed on Claire's finger. It wasn't so much that it is pretty (though it evidently is), it was that when handled it made a very audible squeak.

Closer observation showed that when it squeaked it also moved its pronotum relative to its elytra, suggesting that it produces the sound by flexing the hinge between pronotum and elytra.

I felt sure that this behaviour would have been observed and reported before, so was surprised when I got home yesterday and looked it up to find no reports. It could simply be that I haven't looked in the right places, but I've tried every possible web search that I can think of and have found nothing. In addition, Andrew Duff's articles on longhorn beetles in British Wildlife fail to make any mention. It seems worthy of a blog simply to report the behaviour.

According to the NBN Gateway, A. villosoviridescens has an odd distribution in the UK, deing restricted to the mid- and eastern-England, but absent from the extreme south or south east. Apparently it used to be considered very rare. It's larvae feed in the stem tissues of thistles and umbellifers.

Rickia wasmannii everywhere

Thanks to John Pontin for pointing out the Rickia infested ant in one of this years Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. I had the portfolio at home, but hadn't noticed the fungus on the ant. It's a bit hard to tell from the online image, but is really quite clear when it's a bit bigger.

I'm thinking that the ant is probably Myrmica rubra. As far as I know, R. wasmannii has not been recorded on this species before. Perhaps the photographer, András Mészáros, would be able to help establish whether I'm right?

I'm starting to think that R. wasmannii is actually quite common in Europe, but just under-recorded. Has anyone else made Rickia sightings?

Blog Action Day 2009

Those nice folks at Blog Action Day don't seem to know how to make things simple. Kittens. If they decided to make kittens the subject I'd be able to write a nice concise blog on why kittens are important. Instead I'm left to ponder how to cover undoubtedly the biggest issue of our time: climate change.

The trouble is that with a subject this big, it's hard to know what to write. After weeks of wondering what to write I'm afraid that I'm going to do a stream-of-conciousness on the subject. This will start with me getting back on my soap box, briefly, and mentioning biodiversity loss (I've already covered the subject before): I really care about all biodiversity, from the smallest to largest, cuddly to ugly, friendly to just plain scary, I think it's all amazing. I find it staggeringly difficult to understand how people can not feel a similar sense of awe and wonder. The biggest threat to this thing that I love is climate change.

However, it's not just wildlife that will suffer, as humans will too. Part of this will be as a direct impact of climate change, part will be as a result of the loss of biodiversity. It will and has arguably already started to happen all over the world. It will be have respect for money or power. Saving our failing economy will not help us in the long run. Quite frankly, if we don't do something, we're screwed.

There may be some sceptics reading this. I'm never quite sure what you say to sceptics. Do you ask whether they think after 30 years of collecting data and improved modelling, hundreds of experts worldwide are wrong? Do you ask them whether they think it is some kind of global conspiracy? Do you tell them that denial won't stop these things from happening? Or do you simply tell them to wake up to the fact that a single species can have a significant, long-term impact upon an entire planet?

The rest of us have to continue to strive to make a small difference. I'm guilty of failing to do this as much as anyone. I'm currently sitting in an artificially lit office, writing on a computer that is draining electricity. None of us are going to eliminate our energy requirements altogether, but it would be nice to think that we could all get into some positive habits that, when multiplied up, might just make ensure a better future.

Rickia wasmannii in the UK

Did anyone else notice the photograph on Plate 8 of the 'Ants of Surrey', captioned 'A rare variety of M. sabuleti with unusually shaped hairs? I'd had the book for ages and not paid any attention to it until a few weeks back. The unusually shaped hairs looked remarkably familiar to me.

I emailed John Pontin, to see if he had any specimens of these ants. After a bit of a mix-up over my address (which has changed since the last BWARS newsletter, by the way) I finally retrieved the two specimens he sent to me. They are covered with Rickia wasmannii, as I suspected, more so than the specimens I collected in Bavaria. This fulfils my ambition of finding it first in the UK, even if I didn't collect it. It also means probably two more papers to write (one for the mycologists, one for the myrmecologists).

Lasius neglectus found in the UK

According to a BBC News report released yesterday the invasive species Lasius neglectus has been found in Gloucestershire in the UK.

For those who are unaware of L. neglectus, it is a relatively newly discovered invasive ant species. It has been marching across Europe and, because it does not seem to be too bothered by cold conditions, a number of myrmecologists have been predicting that it will become or was already established in the UK, making it the first non-native ant that could survive away from heated buildings. The question was how long it would take for its presence to be realised, as it looks very similar to the common black garden ant Lasius niger.

More information on the identification, biology and status of L. neglectus.