Forelius pruinosus

Forelius pruinosus, commonly known as the high noon ant,[1]  is a species of ant in the genus Forelius. Described by Roger in 1863, the species is endemic to North America and has been recently observed in Latin America.[2][3]

Forelius pruinosus
Forelius pruinosus worker
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Forelius
Species:
F. pruinosus
Binomial name
Forelius pruinosus
(Roger, 1863)
Synonyms
  • Iridomyrmex pruinosus testaceus Cole, 1936
  • Tapinoma anale André, 1893

This ant species generally feeds on nectar and invertebrates and are found to have mutualistic relationships with various insect and plant species.

Behavior

Reproductive alates during nuptial flight were recorded from May to August. In terms of colony structure, they are polygyne, meaning they have multiple queens. The size of colonies are usually small to moderately large in size.[4][5]

They forage for insects and tend to Hemiptera and have been observed to feed on flower nectar.[4] This species is also found to employ the strategy of linking nests via trails. Generally, the ants will scavenge for dead vertebrates and root coccids along these paths.[6] Methyl-n-amyl ketone chemicals are said to be marked on foraging tracks by these ants.[5]

The high noon ant has been found to have a mutualistic relationship with caterpillar larva of the Miami blue, Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri.[7] The relationship appears more opportunistic in nature, as the ant doesn't actively protect the larvae. Rather, its presence deters predators that would otherwise feed on the larvae of this butterfly species.[7] This ant also exhibits a mutualistic relationship with the cactus, Ferocactus wislizeni. In exchange for nectar from the plant, the high noon ant deters herbivores.[8]

Distribution

Forelius pruinosus ants live in the United States, Cuba and Mexico, where they exist in northern portions of the U.S., and their range could possibly extend further into South America.[2] In Mexico, they live in a broad range of habitats and can be found in desert regions, grasslands, and various sorts of woodland.[4] They also nest under stones and soil.[4] Fields, meadows, and pastures are ideal habitats for the species, and they will colonize woodland areas that are more open spaced.[5] These ants thrive in hot weather and dry conditions, and they are mostly active when it is hot. It's possible they choose not to forage during the night because of the cooler temperatures.[4]

United States

A study carried out in 2003 found that F. pruinosus was one of the dominant ant species of the subfamily Dolichoderinae in north central Florida.[9] F. pruinosus was found to be a robust ant species able to withstand the effects of controlled fires during this studies experimentation on ant communities while other ant species declined in population size. The increase of the high noon ant's population size suggested that the decline in other populations may be due to competition with this particular ant species.[9] In a year-long survey conducted by the Pest Management Professionals in Arizona, F. pruinosus was observed to be one of the predominant pest ant species in Phoenix, Arizona following the southern fire ant, Solenopsis xyloni.[10]

In the Gulf Coast, these ants are considered a household pest, where they nest in homes and invade houses.[5]

Latin America

F. pruinosus was recorded for the first time in Columbia in 2008.[11] This species along with, F. damiani, were the first of the Forelius genus observed in Columbia and were collected in Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a dry forested region.[11]

References
  1. "Common Names of Insects Database | Entomological Society of America". www.entsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  2. Cuezzo, Fabiana Del Carmen; Calcaterra, Luis; Chifflet, Lucila; Follet, Peter (2015-06-30). "Wasmannia Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Argentina: Systematics and Distribution". Sociobiology. 62 (2). doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v62i2.246-265. hdl:11336/12704. ISSN 0361-6525.
  3. Fänge, R.; Johansson-Sjöbeck, M. L. (1975-12-01). "The effect of splenectomy on the hematology and on the activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) in hemopoietic tissues of the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula (Elasmobranchii)". Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A, Comparative Physiology. 52 (4): 577–580. doi:10.1016/s0300-9629(75)80002-8. ISSN 0300-9629. PMID 1175.
  4. Mackay, W. P. and E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY.
  5. Smith, Marion R. (1965). "House-infesting ants of the eastern United States : their recognition, biology, and economic importance". Technical Bulletin No. 1326. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture: 72. OCLC 6078460. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  6. Lanan, Michele (2014). "Spatiotemporal resource distribution and foraging strategies of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Myrmecological News. 20: 53–70. ISSN 1994-4136. PMC 4267257. PMID 25525497.
  7. Saarinen, Emily V.; Daniels, Jaret C. (2006). "Miami Blue Butterfly Larvae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and Ants (Hymeoptera: Formicidae): New Information on the Symbionts of an Endangered Taxon". The Florida Entomologist. 89 (1): 69–74. doi:10.1653/0015-4040(2006)89[69:MBBLLL]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0015-4040. JSTOR 3496608.
  8. Fitzpatrick, Ginny; Lanan, Michele C.; Bronstein, Judith L. (September 2014). "Thermal tolerance affects mutualist attendance in an ant-plant protection mutualism". Oecologia. 176 (1): 129–138. Bibcode:2014Oecol.176..129F. doi:10.1007/s00442-014-3005-8. ISSN 0029-8549. PMC 4153416. PMID 25012597.
  9. Izhaki, Ido; Levey, Douglas J.; Silva, Wesley R. (2003). "Effects of prescribed fire on an ant community in Florida pine savanna". Ecological Entomology. 28 (4): 439–448. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2311.2003.00528.x. ISSN 1365-2311. S2CID 55655217.
  10. Field, H. C.; Evans, W. E.; Hartley, R.; Hansen, L.; Klotz, J. (2007). "A survey of structural ant pests in the Southwestern U.S.A. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". S2CID 17630884. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. Guerrero, Roberto J.; Fernández, Fernando (2008-12-08). "A new species of the ant genus Forelius (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) from the dry forest of Colombia". Zootaxa. 1958 (1): 51–60. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1958.1.5. ISSN 1175-5334.
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