Leptothorax acervorum
| Leptothorax acervorum | |
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| Leptothorax acervorum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Leptothorax |
| Species: | L. acervorum |
| Binomial name | |
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Leptothorax acervorum (Fabricius, 1793) |
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Leptothorax acervorum is a small brown to yellow ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. L. acervorum is vastly distributed across the globe, most commonly found in the coniferous forests of Central, Western and Northern Europe. The morphology of L. acervorum is extremely similar to that of other Leptothorax ants. The difference arises in the two-toned appearance of L. acervorum, with the head and metasoma being darker than the mesosoma segment of the body, and hair across its body. Following Bergmann's rule—unusually, for ectothermic animals—body size increases with latitude.
Leptothorax acervorum was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793 in his publication Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta. Vol 2. The ant belongs to the family of Formicidae, which include all organisms that contain a metapleural gland. Using DNA analysis, the divergence date estimated for clades within the Formicidae imply that most ant subfamilies originate in the late Cretaceous period. The subfamilies would have diverged around the Paleogene period. This species of ant is usually found in mid to northern Europe, regions in North America such as Alaska and northern Canada and in Japan.
L. acervorum are small myrmicine ants with distinct propodeal spines and have three-segmented antennal clubs.
Based on a taxonomy experiment performed by Dekoninck, the entire body of L. acervorum is light brown in color and is covered with erect hairs. The region on the head and the antennal club are slightly darker in colour. The thorax was described as being light brown in colour and having a rounded shoulder.
Leptothorax acervorum is a small red ant Similar to other ants, L. acercorum displays elbowed-antennae, metapleural glands, and a constriction of the second abdominal segment. The exoskeleton provides a protecting casing of the body, which can be divided into 3 segments: the head, mesosoma, and metasoma. The head contains eyes that detect acute movement, three small ocelli to detect light and polarization, and two mandibles. Attached to the head are two antennae. All six legs are attached to the mesosoma. The metasoma houses vital internal organs. “The pedicel of the metasoma is two-segmented,” which is unique for the Subfamily Myrmicinae. The head and abdomen are dark, thereby giving the ant a two-toned appearance. Individual ants are small, with workers measuring around 3 millimetres (0.12 in) in length and queens being only 10% larger. Colonies are small compared to those of other ants—they have anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred workers and one to several queens.
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Wikipedia