Myrmica specioides
From Collingwood (1979) [1]
This is a rather local species in Europe but likely to be overlooked through confusion with M. scabrinodis in the female castes and may well occur in other areas of southern Fennoscandia. It is a more slender species with a broader frons, narrow petiole and more spherical postpetiole. The male resembles that of U. rugulosa but haj the petiole longer and lower with a much flattened dorsal area. In England and Den¬mark nests occurred in coastal sand and gravel banks with a simple entrance hole. Workers behave more aggressively than M. scabrinodis and sting freely. Alatae have been found in August and September.
References
- , The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark, vol. 8. Klampenborg, Denmark: Scandinavian Science Press Ltd., 1979, p. 156.
From Collingwood (1979) [1]
Worker. Yellow red to reddish brown. Antennal scapes sharply angulate at bend with a more or less distinct lateral expansion. Petiole narrow, rectangular from above, in side view sloping evenly from the anterodorsal crest to its junction with the postpetiole. Postpetiole spherical almost cubical in side view, only slightly higher than wide. Head Index: 84.6; Frons Index: 40.6; Frontal Laminae Index: 78.3. Length: 3.0-4.5 mm.
Queen. As worker. Length: 5.0-5.5 mm.
Male. With short scape equal in length to three following segments; appendages more slender than in M. scabrinodis with hairs not longer than their appendage width, those on the underside of the hind tarsae being distinctly shorter than those on the ex¬tensor surface; petiole low with shallow dorsal curvature. Length: 5.0 mm.
References
- , The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark, vol. 8. Klampenborg, Denmark: Scandinavian Science Press Ltd., 1979, p. 156.
