The Formica rufa group is a subgeneric group within the genus Formica, first proposed by William Morton Wheeler. This group contains the mound-building species of Formica commonly termed "wood ants" or "thatch-mound ants", which build prominent nests consisting of a mound of grass, litter, or conifer needles. The species Formica rufa or the red wood ant is the type species of this subgroup.
thumb|Typical Formica thatch mound made of forest litter on rotten stump, covered by worker ants going out to forage
This particular group can inhabit open deciduous woodlands, dense pine forests, and even moorland. Workers vary in size, the largest reaching about long. They can produce formic acid in their abdomens and eject it in the air when threatened. The only function of males is to mate in flight with queens.
Member species
European species include:
- Formica aquilonia <small>Yarrow, 1955</small>
- Formica lugubris <small>Zetterstedt, 1838</small>
- Formica paralugubris <small>Seifert, 1996</small>
- Formica polyctena <small>Förster, 1850</small>
- Formica pratensis <small>Retzius, 1783</small>
- Formica rufa <small>Linnaeus, 1761</small>
- Formica truncorum <small>Fabricius, 1804</small>
Asian species include:
- Formica yessensis
See also
- Pissant