Ant-associated beetles of Fennoscandia and Denmark

Abstract

Ants have a negative impact on populations of many arthropod species. On the other hand, numerous arthropod species live in association with ants. In this paper we list ant-associated beetles (including myrmecophiles) of Fennoscandia and Denmark. Data is based on a literature survey and new field observations. We list 369 ant-associated beetle species of which 73 are categorized as myrmecophilous. Our data suggests that there might be numerous beetle species associated with ants, which are not generally known to do so. This indicates that ant colonies may be important habitats for a large variety of beetle species.

Species richness of associates of ants in the nests of red wood ant Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…According to the listing done by Päivinen et al . (), there have been 56 myrmecophilous beetle species recorded from the nests of Formica ants. Thus, we found 30% of all previously observed myrmecophilous beetle species among the genus Formica .…”

“…Of the beetle species found in this study, 17 are classified as myrmecophilous according to Koch (,b, ). Interestingly, before this study only 24 beetle species with 17 of them being myrmecophilous have been recorded from F. polyctena nests (reviewed by Päivinen et al ., ). In contrast, 166 beetle species of which 46 are myrmecophilous have been found in the nests of Formica rufa Linnaeus ants.…”

“…Although all of the myrmecophilous beetles in this study were generalists, i.e. they have several hosts (mostly Lasius and Formica rufa group species), and most of them (14), including P. formicetorum , have been found in association with F. aquilonia before (reviewed by Päivinen et al ., ), the differences in species composition could also reflect specificity to different hosts. Finally, there is also the difference in geographical location to consider.…”

“…Donisthorpe, ; Wilson, ; Hölldobler & Wilson, ; Rettenmeyer et al ., ; Robinson & Robinson, ), and quite often they focus on just one taxonomic group, e.g. beetles (Päivinen et al ., ), spiders (Cushing, ), and myriapods (Stoev & Lapeva‐Gjonova, ). Rettenmeyer et al .…”

A comparative study of oribatid mite communities in red wood ant Formica polyctena nests and surrounding soil in a Finnish oak forest

“…Several studies provide comprehensive lists of ant‐associated invertebrates revealing a hyper‐diverse environment inside the ant communities (Kistner, ; Hölldobler & Wilson, ; Laakso & Setälä, ; Rettenmeyer et al ., ; Robinson & Robinson, ; Härkönen & Sorvari, ; Parmentier et al ., ). But, some studies have focused only on one specific taxonomic group among ant‐associated organisms such as beetles (Päivinen et al ., , ), spiders (Cushing, ), myriapods (Stoev & Lapeva‐Gjonova, ), earthworms (Laakso & Setälä, ) and mesostigmatid mites (Lehtinen, ; Berghoff et al ., ; Uppstrom & Klompen, ; Campbell et al ., ).…”