Formica pallidefulva - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Ants (Formicoidea) » Ants (Formicidae) » Formicinae » Formicini » Wood ants, mound ants, & field ants (Formica) » pallidefulva group (Formica pallidefulva group) » Formica pallidefulva

Photo#186658

Copyright © 2008 Donald Erickson

Formica pallidefulva

Colorado Springs, El Paso couinty County, Colorado, USA

I am pretty sure this is a Solenopsis. Does anyone know the species? Maybe this is S. xyloni? but maybe Colorado is too far north for the Southern Fire ant?

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Contributed by Donald Erickson on 31 May, 2008 - 9:28pm
Last updated 10 February, 2010 - 5:27pm

Moved

Moved from Ants.

… Charley Eiseman, 10 February, 2010 - 5:27pm

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Formica sp. (pallidefulva group) - worker

Color pattern reminds of Formica incerta, but I'm unsure whether this species reaches as far West as CO.
Fire Ants also exhibit the same color pattern, with the same shining integuments, but as members of Myrmicinae subfamily, they have two node-like modified segments between alitrunk (apparent thorax) and gaster (apparent abdomen).
Instead, this Formica ant has only one scale-like segment at the same place.

… Richard Vernier, 1 June, 2008 - 5:54am

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Maybe Pogonomyrmex?

I have seen large harvester ant nests in prairie areas around Colorado Springs. I'm sure someone better with ants will know for sure, but that would be my guess.

… Heidi Eaton, 31 May, 2008 - 11:35pm

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It's Formica pallidefulva

The Formica pallidefulva group was recently revised taxonomically. See this article for all the gory details: http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21293/21293.pdf .

Anyway, your Colorado Springs ant is F. pallidefulva, itself, which contrary to popular opinion, comes in a variety of colors, ranging from quite dark brown to bright coppery yellow. The pattern in the picture is the most common in the area where the picture was taken.

… James C. Trager, 4 June, 2008 - 3:04pm

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Thanks for the ID.

Thanks for the ID.

… Donald Erickson, 4 June, 2008 - 6:53pm

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Donald -

if you get a chance, could you move this nice image to the correct page in the guide? Instructions for how to move images to a guide page are here:

http://bugguide.net/help/images

… Ken Schneider, 15 July, 2008 - 4:36pm

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