Taxonomy and distribution of Formica dusmeti Emery, 1909 and of F. frontalis Santschi, 1919 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Abstract

In the present work, we indicate the distribution of and taxonomic differences between Formica dusmeti and Formica frontalis (stat. n.). Morphological differences include a total absence of hairs in F. dusmeti as opposed to uniformly scattered hairs in F. frontalis. These two species have similar coloration and hairless scapes and eyes. In addition, we describe the male and female of F. frontalis, a species that was considered until now to be a subspecies of F. truncorum. We consider F. frontalis to be a separate species from F. truncorum, differentiated by a lack of hairs on the eyes, scapes and genae in the workers of the former. The males of F. frontalis are distinguished from F. truncorum by hairless eyes and scapes. Finally, a key has been formulated for the workers in the rufa, sanguinea and exsecta groups of the genus Formica in the Iberian Peninsula.