Formica foreli Emery

51. Formica foreli Emery, 1909 Fig. 216.

Formica foreli Emery, 1909: 192.

Worker Bicoloured with head and gaster mainly dark and with a pronounced dark patch on promesonotum. Eyes without hairs and dorsal body hairs restricted to front of clypeus and apical tergites of gaster. Maxillary palps very short either 5 or 6 segmented, not reaching back beyond front eye margin. Pubescent hairs on gaster longer than their interspace. First gaster tergite somewhat dull, not shining. Clypeus normally slightly impressed below midline when seen in profile. Head and scale strongly excised. Length: 4.5-7.0 mm.

Queen. Bicoloured with part of head, mesopleurae at sides and scale reddish yellow. Gaster dull not shining, rest as worker. Length: 6.0-7.0 mm.

Male. Black with yellowish appendages; head broadly emarginate; eyes without hairs. Mesonotum with numerous short erect hairs. Pubescent hairs on gaster slightly longer than interspaces. General appearance somewhat shining but less so than F. pressilabris. Length: 5.5-7.0 mm.

Distribution. So far only known from Tisvilde Hegn and Asserbo, NEZ, Denmark, but because only queens are easily distinguished from F. pressilabris may be under-recorded. - Range: Central Europe, rather local - France to Caucasus, Switzerland to Poland and Denmark.

Biology. This species nests in small flat mounds of grass and heather litter on banks in open lowland heath. Habits are similar to those of F. exsecta.