Lasius paralienus
From Seifert, (1992) [1]
Holotype : a worker labelled "Germania: Kr. Bautzen, 2 km S Weilienberg, N066, 11. 7. 1991, leg. Seifert". Paratypes : 19 workers with same data as Holotype but nest sample numbers N005, 16N038, N066 (the holotype nest) and N22l; 14 Workers labelled "Germania: Kr. Bautzen, 1 km S Niedergurig, 28. 7. 1991 " with sample nest numbers N086, N223 and N240. Depository: Gorlitz MUS.
References
From Seifert, (1992) [1]
Worker : Head : Genal setae 0.96 1 1.02 (n = 27, 0-4); occipital hairs distributed to hind margin of eye. Clypeal carina variable but on average less clearly developed than‘ in alienus, often very blunt or nearly absent. Mandibles nonnally 8-toothed (8.00 1 0.43, n = 23,7-9). HL/HW•(900) 1.080, SL/HL (900) 0.953. Mesosoma: propodeal dome more hemispheric, flatter than in psammophilus. Area between propodeal spiracle and metapleural gland with 2-5 setae. Scale : in lateral view rather thick, with blunt apex and convex frontal and straight posterior profile; in frontal view with convex sides, dorsal crest convex (23 %), straight with rounded comers (37 %) or weakly emarginate (40 %). Scape : pubescence surface rather smooth, 0-150; single setae (30-50°, max. 34 pm) are frequently present. Hindtibia : pubescence surface rather smooth (0-10°); 1-6 setae (30-60", max. 46 um) are normally present at proximal end. Surfacecharacters : Head, mesosoma and gaster with a profuse, appressed and white pubescence often giving a strong contrast to blackish cuticula and producing a silky surface appearance. Dorsal head with very weak and shallow micropunctures of 2-3 pm diameter and 9-13 pm central distance; microreticulum of dorsal head fine but better developed than in alienus and psammophilus. Pubescence on dorsal head smooth, 0-10°, PLF 27-39 pm. Frontal pronotum with fine transversal microrugosity. Colour : normally notably darker than in alienus. Head, mesosoma, petiole, gaster and femora blackish or dark brown; tibia dark brown; scape, mandibles, distal femoral and proximal tibal end yellowish brown. HL 897.7 1 68.5 (241), HL/HW 1.0767 1 0.0201 (74), SL/HL 0.9536 1 0.0173 (241) CLCA 0.53 1 0.22 (28), PDCL 12.41 1 1.55 (241), nHS 0.76 1 0.75 (27), nHHT 3.57 1 2.13 (27), nBH 9.45 1 3.22 (241), nUH 2.52 1 0.98 (241), UHL/HL 0.1098 1 0.0109 (29), PNHL/HL 0.1454 1 0.0193 (28). Workers from the Hungarian plane, the Balkans and Turkey have nest means of HL of 936.3 1 51.8 (n =25) and those from Germany and Sweden such of 872.2 1 45.4 (n= 44) which is a significant difference. The German and Swedish workers have, on average, shorter setae, often a more developed clypeal carina and often a slightly emarginate petiole scale which is rarely seen in SE European populations.
Queen: Head: Mandibles with 8 to 9 teeth (8.10 1 0.32, n=11). Frontal furrow fully developed but not set in the middle of a trough. Gena frequently with 1-3 setae (1.28 1 1.20, n Z 9), 30-45°. Mesosoma: very high. P e t i o 1 u s : always clearly emarginate, sides slightly converging dorsad. Scape: pubescence surface not as smooth as in worker, 5-30“; a small number of setae (30-70°, max. 75 pm) is frequently present. H i n d tib i a : pubescence surface not as smooth as in worker, 15°—30°; always with a number of setae (30-70°, max. 104 um), the majority proximally. Surfacecharacters : dorsal head with very dense pubescence (10-20°, PLF 42-65 pm), producing a silky surface appearance; well-marked micropunctures of 3-7 um diameter and 13-17 um central distance and a weakly developed microreticulum are present. C olour: body blackish brown, femora dark brown, mandibles brown or reddish brown, scape pale reddish brown. HL 1511.4 1 64.0 (27), HW 1689.4 1 82.1 (27), AL 3235.9 1 109.1, HL/HW 0.8929 1 0.0158 (27), SL/HL 0.8679 1 0.0221 (27), SL/HW 0.7747 1 0.0202 (27), AH/AL 0.6148 1 0.0129 (27), PDCL 10.87 1 1.10 (27), nHS 6.97 1 3.56 (18), nHHT 11.08 1 6.10 (20), nBH 9.26 1 5.16 (27), nUH 4.22 1 2.66 (27), PNHL 193.1 1 15.5 (11)
Abbreviations
CLCA - a number describing the perceptible length of the median clypeal carina as a ratio of the total distance from anterior to posterior clypeal margin. This measurement is affected by illumination effects and subjective errors but is generally a good means to express the development of this structure.
EL — eye length; the largest diameter of eye across all .structurally visible ommatidia irrespective of the pigmentation status
EW — eye width; the small diameter of eye measured perpendicularly to transect in EL and across all structurally defined ommatidia.
HL — maximum head length in median line; the head has to be carefully tilted to the position with the real maximum.
HW - maximum measurable head width;_this is either across eyes or the head capsule width behind the eyes seen in transmitted-light to measure the real cuticular surface and not the pubescence surface.
MaDe - number of dents on masticatory border of mandible
MH - mesosoma height measured perpendicularly to tangent of dorsal mesosoma profile from scutellum down to lower margin of mesopleura
ML — maximum mesosoma length from hind median extension of propodeum to frontal profile of pronotum
M6 • the length of the maxillary palp segment 6 (Z the apical one)
rrHS — number of standing hairs projecting > 20 um from dorsal profile of scapus; i. e. the number of hairs visible when looking at the small diameter of scapus under transmitted-light condition. The always present hairs on distal apex are not counted and the number refers to one scapus.
nHHT — number of standing hairs projecting > 20 um from extensor profile of one hind tibia seen in transmitted light. The always present hairs on distal apex are not counted and the number refers to one tibia.
nUH — number of standing hairs on underside of head projecting > 20 urn from gular profile seen in lateral view. The number refers to only one half of head.
nBH - number of standing hairs projecting > 20 um from occipital profile of head frontad to hind margin of eye. The number refers to only one half of head and counting is performed in the position in which HL is measured.
PDCL - average pubescence distance on clypeus; the number n of pubescence hairs crossing or touching a measuring line of length l (arrow in Fig. 2) is counted. PDCL is then l/n and given in um.
PLF - length of pubescence hairs on frontal head (normally expressed as mean of 4 to 5 measurements per specimen). PNHL — length of longest standing hair on pronotum
SL — maximum straight line scapus length excluding articular bulb
UHL - length of longest standing hair on underside of head
HL/HW (900) and SL/HL (900) are values of HL/HW and SL/HL calculated for a worker with
HL = 900 using the overall allometric functions given in Tab. l. These values indicate the relative head and scape length of a species independent of its average body size. To have a short but comparable characterization of the pilosity (= setae or bigger hairs) and pubescence (1 microchaetae or fine, small hairs) , descriptions as in the following example are applied: "Hind tibia: setae on whole profile, 15.3 1 5.3, 30-55°, max. 55 um". This describes the distribution, mean hair number 1 standard deviation, frequent angles of erection, and the perpendicular projection of the longest hair from cuticular surface. Sometimes, particularly in the pecies of the alienus
References
From Seifert, (1992) [1]
The distributional center of paralienus is probably the Balkans. It is very abundant in the pontic habitats of the Hungarian plane. The northemmost samples in the studied material came from the Swedish island Gland (57°N) and the southernmost sample from the southern coastland of Anatolia (36°N). The vertical distribution in S Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Italy (latitudes between 36°N and 41°N) ranges within 700 and 1900 m (mainly 900-1400). In the limestone areas of Central and S Germany (Thtiringen, Franken, Hessen, Baden-Wiirttemberg), parulienus is found at altitudes between 400 and 950 m. There, pamlienus has still not been recorded from limestone regions below 400 m - i. e. from the warm vineyard zones in valleys of the rivers Saale, Unstrut, Main, Tauber and Neckar where only alienus has been found so far. Pamlienus is distributed in all habitats with a pontic character - i. e. xerothermous grasslands and steppe-heath as well. In contrast to alienus which is preferentially found in Gennany in habitats with mild winters, paralienus predominates on sites with a more continental climate. It is absent from urban areas in Central Europe where L. niger is a superior competitor. Estimated nest densities on pontic hillsides in the Gennan Oberlausitz are 20-30 nests/ 100 m2. In Germany,the nests are soil or soil/stone nests with simple entrances and without conspicuous mound constructions. The information on biology is very sparse. I have seen it frequently climbing in the field layer or on bushes. Trophobiosis with Aphidae and different Lycaenidae (Plebejus sephirus and argus, leg. and det. K. Fiedler) was observed and small arthropode booty was retrieved to the nest. The sexuals occur on average 1 month later than in the siblings alienus and psammophilus. It is suspected to be the main host of Lasius balcanicus Seifert and does not attack the myrmecologist dismembering the nest.
References
From Seifert, (1992) [1]
The ecological segregation of L.ulienus, L. psammophilus n. sp. and L. purulienus n. sp. The safe morphological distinction of the 3 siblings enabled preliminary studies on habitat selection and ecological segregation. The data presented here refer to Europe in latitudes between 47°N and 57°N. The situation in the south is poorly known. All three species similarly occupy open xerothermous habitats but clear distributional differences regarding the mineralic component of soil conditions are detectable L. psummophilus has a very narrow spectrum being almost resticted to habitats with sandy soils. In the German lowlands, it completely dominates in the open xerothemious grasslands and heath characterized by Corynephoms, Calluna and Festuca ovina species. Lusius alienus, on the other hand, has a broader spectrum but has a very high affinity to habitats on 1imestone/ chalk. No extreme preferences and the biggest width for geological conditions is found for L. pamlienus.