Formica fusca 5277437 222246775 2008-06-28T09:06:47Z Lasuisflavus 7387677 {{Taxobox | name = | image = fusca_feeding.jpg | image_width = 275px | image_caption = ''Formica fusca'' workers feeding | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Arthropod]]a | classis = [[Insect]]a | ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] | familia = [[Ant|Formicidae]] | genus = ''[[Formica]]'' | species = '''''F. fusca''''' | binomial = ''Formica fusca'' | binomial_authority = [[Carolus_Linnaeus|L.]], 1758 }} '''''Formica fusca''''', the common black [[ant]] of [[Europe]], is a [[palaearctic]] ant with a range extending from [[Portugal]] in the east to [[Japan]] in the west and from [[Italy]] in the south to [[Fennoscandia]] in the north. ''F. fusca'' nests are usually found in rotten tree stumps or under stones in clearcut areas and along woodland borders and hedgerows. Colonies are facultatively [[Polygyny|polygynous]] (though weakly so); though the queens coexist amicably, contribution to the brood tends to be unequal. Nests are usually small, containing 500-2,000 workers. The workers are large (8-10 mm) and fast moving, though timid. ''F. fusca'' feeds on small insects, [[aphid]] honeydew and extra floral [[nectar]]ies. Alate (winged) forms are produced in June/July and [[Nuptial_flight|nuptial flights]] are in July/August. A recent study (Hannonen & Sundström 2003) has found evidence of [[nepotism]] in ''F. fusca'', in contrast with previous experiments with other ant species (Snyder 1993); this conclusion has been challenged, however, on the grounds that the observed pattern may result from differences in egg viability (Fournier ''et al.'' 2004). ==References== * Collingwood CA (1979) The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica, Vol. 8, Scandinavian Science Press, Klampenborg, Denmark. * Czechowski, W., Radchenko, A. & Czechowska, W. (2002) The Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Poland (Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) * Fournier, D., Aron, S. & Keller, L. (2004) Significant reproductive skew in the facultatively polygynous ant Pheidole pallidula. Molecular Ecology, 13:203-210. * Hannonen, M. and Sundström, L. (2003) Worker nepotism among polygynous ants. Nature, 421:910. * Snyder, L. (1993) Non-random behavioural interactions among genetic subgroups in a polygynous ant. Animal Behavior, 46:431-439. {{commons|Formica fusca}} [[Category:Hymenoptera of Europe]] [[Category:Hymenoptera of Asia]] [[Category:Formicinae]] [[de:Grauschwarze Sklavenameise]] [[no:Svart sauemaur]] [[pl:Pierwomrówka łagodna]] [[pt:Formica fusca]] [[it:Formica fusca]]