''Leptothorax muscorum'' is a species of

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

of the genus ''

Leptothorax ''Leptothorax'' is a genus of small ants with mainly Holarctic distributions. The genus is notable for its widespread social parasitism, i.e. they are dependent on the help of workers from other ant species during a part or the whole of their lif ...

'' that ranges through a variety of habitats throughout much of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

northern Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and is coextensive with the Asian part of Russia, and consists of three Russian regions east of the Ural Mountains: ...

, and

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, with a particularly wide distribution in the

palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. Capable of surviving in extreme Arctic-Alpine conditions, the species is perhaps the northernmost dwelling ant indigenous to the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

Physiology, morphology and taxonomy

Several highly similar subspecies of ''L. muscorum'' have been identified, including ''L. m. betulae'', ''L. m. fagi'', ''L. m. flavescens'', ''L. m. gredleri'', ''L. m. nigriceps'', ''L. m. oceanicum'', ''L. m. scamni'', ''L. m. septentrionalis'', ''L. m. sordida'', ''L. m. sordidus'', and ''L. m. uvicensis''."Species: ''Leptothorax muscorum'' - AntWeb." Accessed December 26, 2015. https://www.antweb.org/description.do?rank=species&name=muscorum&genus=leptothorax&project=britishcolumbiaants. A study of enzyme patterns has identified a number of other ''Leptothorax'' species (including ''L. retractus'', ''L. sphagnicolus'', and ''L. crassipilis'') which are morphologically and genetically similar enough that some phylogeneticists have classified them as part of a "muscorum group" (a type of

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

"cluster") within ''Leptothorax''. Workers within a colony are generally small (2.7-3.2 mm) and dark-coloured (black, dark brown or dark red), with multiple morphs of color and size often appearing within a given population, but with each population showing distinctive procilivties towards size and colouring. Workers are typically the darkest members of the colony. The species has an

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

with 11 segments and a

propodeum The propodeum or propodium is the first abdominal segment in Apocrita Hymenoptera (wasps, bees and ants). It is fused with the thorax to form the mesosoma. It is a single large sclerite, not subdivided, and bears a pair of spiracles. It is strongl ...

with a pair of short but distinct angled spines between its upper and declivitous faces."''Leptothorax muscorum''." Accessed December 26, 2015. http://www.navajonature.org/ants/myrmicinae/leptothorax-muscorum.html Appendage hairs are generally few in number and appressed.

Ecology and distribution

Variants of ''L. muscorum'' are found throughout

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

, with colonies reported in every European nation, excepting the British Isles, and throughout the east-to-west axis of northern Russia. Species are also found broadly in North America, with colonies in Alaska, Alberta, Arizona, British Columbia, California, Canada, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and as far south as Mexico. Colonies have been observed as far north as the mouth of the Mackenzie River, which is perhaps a northernmost record for any ant species in the Western Hemisphere. Colonies have been observed at elevations varying from 2–3810 meters, with a 2003 meters average. The species is found primarily in wooded areas (particularly aspen and coniferous forests with limited ground foliage in mountainous regions), in scrubland, and in open mountain meadows. Colonies are often found under stones, in tree bark, in rotting wood and in moss, from which the species derives its name. Colonies typically contain less than 100 workers, and may have one or numerous queens.

Polydomy An ant colony is a population of a single ant species capable to maintain its complete lifecycle. Ant colonies are eusocial, communal, and efficiently organized and are very much like those found in other social Hymenoptera, though the vari ...

occurs within the species, with several chambers each containing their own queen and nest linked to a larger colony complex. Like other ''Leptothorax'' ants, ''L. muscorum'' will often move their nesting locations if the need arises. This process begins with scout workers recruiting individual coworkers to visit a new nesting site via tandem running. If the new nesting location is suitable to the colony's needs, workers stop using tandem running and begin carrying nestmates (brood and queens) to the new nest.Möglich, M. 1978. Social organization of nest emigration in ''Leptothorax'' (Hym., Form.). Insectes Sociaux. 25:205-225.

References

Additional references

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q13395757 muscorum Insects described in 1846