A Second Host Species of the Inquiline Ant Leptothorax wilsoni

Abstract

The workerless parasitic ant,Leptothorax wilsoni, as yet known only from colonies ofLeptothoraxcf.canadensis, was found in five colonies of a second host species,Leptothoraxsp. A (sensu Heinze and Buschinger, 1989) near Escoumins, Québec. This is the first finding of an inquiline with more than one host species in the ant tribe Formicoxenni. In contrast to a previous statemem, the palp formula ofL. wilsoniis 4. 3.

The Origin of Workerless Parasites in Leptothorax (S. Str.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…canadensis: Bic (Co. de Rimouski, Qu6bec), Tadoussac (Co. de Saguenay, Qu6bec), Mount Monadnock (Cheshire Co., New Hampshire); L. gredleri: Sommerhausen (Bavaria, Germany); L. muscorum: Leinburg (Bavaria, Germany), Ilgaz Dagi Geqidi (ankiri, Turkey); L. "muscorum" C: Maligne Canyon (Alberta); L. retractus: St. Sim6on (Co. de Charlevoix-Est); L. sphagnicolus: L'Ascension (Co. de Chicoutimi,Qu6bec); D. pocahontas: Maligne Canyon (Alberta). Details on the collecting procedure, laboratory rearing, and the life histories and collecting sites are published elsewhere (Heinze, 1989(Heinze, , 1993 Heinze and Ortius, 1991; Heinze, Trunzer, Lechner and Ortius, 1995).…”

“…L. wilsoni was recently found in colonies of a second host species, Leptothorax sp. A (Heinze et al, 1995), but a closer phylogenetic relationship between them also appears unlikely based on morphology and enzyme patterns.…”