''Myrmica schencki'' 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 22,0 ...

in the genus ''

Myrmica ''Myrmica'' is a genus of ants within the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is widespread throughout the temperate regions of the Holarctic and high mountains in Southeast Asia. The genus consists of around 200 known species and additional subspecies, ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Myrmica schencki'' is distributed across Europe (from Great Britain, Sweden, Finland in the North to Spain, Italy and the Balkans in the South), the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, Turkey, also in West Siberia, Kazakhstan, the

Tien-Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

and Altai Mountains, and near

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yen ...

in East Siberia. It inhabits dry habitats in open areas and forests. Nests are found in the ground, occasionally in tussocks of grass or moss. Colonies are

polygynous Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any o ...

with up to 1000 workers. Recent research has shown that this species may partially feed on

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

– a phenomenon rarely documented in ants.

Parasitism

''M. schencki'' is parasitized by ''

Phengaris rebeli ''Phengaris rebeli'' (formerly ''Maculinea rebeli''), common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was init ...

'' larvae, which release chemicals that trick the ants into believing that the butterfly larvae are ant larvae and should be brought back to the ant brood. In the ant nest, the ''P. rebeli'' larvae and pupa are able to mimic the sound that the queen of the ant colony makes, causing the ants to preferentially feed the ''P. rebeli'' larvae over their own larvae. While the workers are unable to distinguish the queen from the ''P. rebeli'' larvae and pupa, the queen begins to treat the ''P. rebeli'' larvae and pupa as rivals. Less commonly, ''M. schecncki'' may also be parasitized by ''

Phengaris arion The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully ...

''. Unlike ''P. rebeli'', ''P. arion'' adopts more of a predatory relationship with the ants which is generally viewed as a less successful strategy.

References

* Csősz S, Markó B, Gallé L 2011
The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hungary: an updated checklist
''North-Western Journal of Zoology'' 7: 55-62. * Czekes Z ''et al.'' 2012
The genus Myrmica Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: distribution of species and key for their identification
''Entomologica romanica'' 17: 29-50. * Czechowski W ''et al.'' 2011
Rubbish dumps reveal the diet of ant colonies: Myrmica schencki Em. and Myrmica rubra (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as facultative pollen-eaters
'' Polish Journal of Ecology '' 56: 737-741.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q11838227 Hymenoptera of Europe Myrmica Insects described in 1903