''Lasius balearicus'' is an ant species from the genus ''

Lasius ''Lasius'' is a genus of formicine ants. The type species for this genus is the black garden ant, '' Lasius niger''. Other major members, which live in drier heathland, are the cornfield ant, '' L. neoniger'', and '' L. alienus''. Other species ...

''. It was discovered in 1982 by Cedric Alex Collingwood, an entomologist from the

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomology, entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Socie ...

and described as a new species in 2014 after a team from the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva in Barcelona collected the holotype in 2008. ''L. balearicus'' is confined to the island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

and it is the first known endemic ant species from the Balearic Islands and the first known endemic ''Lasius'' species from any Mediterranean island. The total length of a ''L. balearicus'' worker is about 4 mm. The body is distinctive yellowish-brown. ''L. balearicus'' is restricted to

Serra de Tramuntana The Serra de Tramuntana (, es, Sierra de Tramontana) is a mountain range running southwest–northeast which forms the northern backbone of the Spanish island of Mallorca. It is also the name given to the comarca of the same area. On 27 June 201 ...

, a mountain range on Majorca where it is occurred in altitudes from 800 to 1400 m. On the basis of DNA analysis it was determined that it diverged from its nearest relatives 1,51 million years ago and formed an isolated population. Talavera, Espadaler & Vila (2014), who described ''Lasius balearicus'', recommended listing the species as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

(EN) in the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

References

Insects described in 2014 Fauna of Mallorca Endemic fauna of the Balearic Islands Hymenoptera of Europe balearicus {{formicinae-stub