Formica polyctena
| Formica polyctena | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Genus: | Formica |
| Species: | F. polyctena |
| Binomial name | |
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Formica polyctena Förster, 1850 |
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Formica polyctena is a species of in the genus Formica and large family Formicidae. It is found in many European countries. It is a eusocial species, that has a distinct caste system of sterile workers and a very small reproductive caste. The ants have a genetic based cue that allow them to identify which other ants are members of their nest and which are foreign individuals. When facing these types of foreign invaders the F. polyctena has a system to activate an alarm. It can release pheromones which can trigger an alarm response in other nearby ants.
For the larvae and the pupae in the nest to properly develop there needs to be the proper temperature. Several aspects of the nests work together to maintain the proper temperature by regulating moisture, radiation, and even the metabolic heat resulting from the activities of the workers.
It is found in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
Formica polyctena like many ant, wasp and bee species, displays a eusocial system. Eusocial insects are characterized by cooperative care of young among members of a colony, distinct caste systems where some individuals breed and most individuals are sterile helpers, and overlapping generations so mother, adult offspring and immature offspring are all living at the same time. In a eusocial colony, an individual is assigned a specialized caste before they become reproductively mature, which makes them behaviorally distinct from other castes. Red wood ants exhibit all of these characteristics, with queens and males that make up the reproductive caste and sterile female workers that aid in brood care and colony maintenance.
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