''Lasius alienus'', or cornfield ant, is a species of

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in the subfamily

Formicinae The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development. Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and littl ...

(family Formicidae). Workers have a length of about 2–4 mm, Queens are larger (7–9 mm).

Distribution

They live in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

; populations in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

are now considered to be a separate species, ''

Lasius americanus ''Lasius americanus'', or woodland fuzzy ant, is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. Description ''Lasius americanus'' workers are often a shade of dusty brown that have lighter semi-translucent legs. Antennae do not have any erect S ...

''.

Genetics

Genome A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

type ''Lasius alienus'': 0,31 m (C value)Tsutsui, ND, AV Suarez, J.C. Spagna, and J.S. Johnston (2008). The evolution of genome size in ants. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8: 64.

Mutualism

The butterfly ''

Plebejus argus The silver-studded blue (''Plebejus argus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. ''P. argus'' can be ...

'' lays eggs near nests of the ant ''L. alienus'', forming a mutualistic relationship. This mutualistic relationship benefits the adult butterfly by reducing the need for parental investment. Once the eggs hatch, the ants chaperone the larvae, averting the attacks of predatory organisms like wasps and spiders as well as parasites. In return, the ants receive a saccharine secretion fortified with amino acids from an eversible gland on the larvae's back. As first instar larvae prepare to pupate, the ants carry the larvae into their nests. Once the larvae become pupae, the ants continue to provide protection against predation and parasitism.

References

*Seifert, B. (1992). ''A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the ant subgenus Lasius s. str.'' (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Abhand. Be. Naturkundemus. Goerlitz 66 (5): 1-66. *Wilson, E. O. (1955). ''A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius'', Ph.D. dissert., Harvard University, 105 p.

External links

* alienus Hymenoptera of Europe Insects described in 1850 Taxa named by Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster {{formicinae-stub