Lasius

Lasius Latr. is a genus of boreal formicine ants.

Included within this genus is the common black garden ant, Lasius niger, and its close relatives from dry heathland, L. alienus and L. neoniger.

Other species include the temporary social parasites of the L. mixtus group and the hyper-social parasite Lasius fuliginosus.

Lasius flavus is also a commonly seen species, building grassy hillocks in undisturbed pasture. In the Alps, these mounds - always aligned east to catch the first rays of the rising sun - have been traditionally used by goatherds as natural compasses.

The genus was renamed by Horace St. John Kelly Donisthorpe, the eccentric British myrmecologist and coleopterist, after himself Donisthorpea.

Synonyms: Donisthorpea Donisthorpe

Species

Source: [Catalogue of Life: 2005 Annual Checklist]

Lasius alienoflavus Bingham, 1903
L. alienus (Foerster, 1850)
L. atopus Cole, 1958
L. balcanicus Seifert, 1988
L. bicornis (Foerster, 1850)
L. breviscapus Seifert, 1992
L. brunneus (Latreille, 1798)
* L. brunneus brunneus (Latreille, 1798)
* L. brunneus emarginatobrunneus Ruzsky, 1902
L. buccatus Staercke, 1942
L. capitatus (Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927)
L. carniolicus Mayr, 1861
L. chambonensis Theobald, 1935
L. cinereus Seifert, 1992
L. citrinus Emery, 1922
L. coloratus Santschi, 1937
L. crinitus (Smith, 1858)
L. crispus Theobald, 1935
L. crypticus Wilson, 1955
L. distinguendus (Emery, 1916)
L. draco Collingwood, 1982
L. emarginatus (Olivier, 1792)
L. epicentrus Theobald, 1937
L. escamole Reza, 1925
L. exulans Fabricius, 1804
L. fallax Wilson, 1955
L. flavescens Forel, 1904
L. flavoniger Seifert, 1992
L. flavus (Fabricius, 1782)
L. fuliginosus (Latreille, 1798)
L. gebaueri Seifert, 1992
L. globularis (Heer, 1850)
L. grandis Forel, 1909
L. hayashi Yamauchi & Hayashida, 1970
L. hikosanus Yamauchi, 1979
L. himalayanus Bingham, 1903
L. hirsutus Seifert, 1992
L. humilis Wheeler, 1917
L. japonicus Santschi, 1941
L. jensi Seifert, 1982
* L. jensi jensi Seifert, 1982
* L. jensi longiceps Seifert, 1988
L. karpinisi Seifert, 1992
L. koreanus Seifert, 1992
L. lasioides (Emery, 1869)
L. lawarai Seifert, 1992
L. longaevus (Heer, 1850)
L. longipennis (Heer, 1850)
L. magnus Seifert, 1992
L. meridionalis (Bondroit, 1920)
L. mikir Collingwood, 1982
L. minutulus (Heer, 1850)
L. minutus Emery, 1893
L. mixtus (Nylander, 1846)
L. monticola (Buckley, 1866)
L. morisitai Yamauchi, 1979
L. myops Forel, 1894
L. nearcticus Wheeler, 1906
L. nemorivagus Wheeler, 1915
L. neoniger Emery, 1893
L. nevadensis Cole, 1956
L. niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
* L. niger niger (Linnaeus, 1758)
* L. niger pinetorum Ruzsky, 1907
L. nigrescens Stitz, 1930
L. obliteratus (Heer, 1850)
L. oblongus Assmann, 1870
L. obscuratus Stitz, 1930
L. obscurus (Heer, 1850)
L. occultatus (Heer, 1850)
* L. occultatus occultatus (Heer, 1850)
* L. occultatus parschlugianus (Heer, 1850)
L. pallitarsis (Provancher, 1881)
L. paralienus Seifert, 1992
L. peritulus (Cockerell, 1927)
L. piliferus Seifert, 1992
L. platythorax Seifert, 1991
L. productus Wilson, 1955
L. przewalskii Ruzsky, 1915
L. psammophilus Seifert, 1992
L. pumilus Mayr, 1868
L. rabaudi (Bondroit, 1917)
L. redtenbacheri (Heer, 1850)
* L. redtenbacheri neuter (Heer, 1850)
* L. redtenbacheri redtenbacheri (Heer, 1850)
L. reginae Faber, 1967
L. rubiginosus (Latreille, 1802)
L. sabularum (Bondroit, 1918)
L. sakagamii Yamauchi & Hayashida, 1970
L. schaeferi Seifert, 1992
L. schiefferdeckeri Mayr, 1868
L. schulzi Seifert, 1992
L. sitiens Wilson, 1955
L. sonobei Yamauchi, 1979
L. spathepus Wheeler, 1910
L. speculiventris Emery, 1893
L. subumbratus Viereck, 1903
L. talpa Wilson, 1955
L. tebessae Seifert, 1992
L. teranishii Wheeler, 1928
L. terreus Scudder, 1878
L. tertiarius Zalessky, 1949
L. turcicus Santschi, 1921
L. umbratus (Nylander, 1846)
L. uzbeki Seifert, 1992
L. vestitus Wheeler, 1910
L. vetulus Dlussky, 1981
L. viehmeyeri Emery, 1922
L. wittmeri Seifert, 1992
L. xerophilus MacKay & MacKay, 1994

External links

[Online Catalog of Ants of North America: Genus Lasius] (with distribution, sketches and pictures)
[Fabricius, J. C. 1804. Systema Piezatorum. Carolum Reichard, Brunsviga] (Original description, in Latin; PDF 2.5M)

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