Temnothorax nylanderi

• Temnothorax nylanderi nylanderonigriceps (Stitz, 1939)

Temnothorax nylanderi lives in the litter, and nests can be found in small cavities in twigs and acorns for example. Nests usually contain less than 400 individuals, among them a single queen.{{cite journal | vauthors = Scharf I, Modlmeier AP, Fries S, Tirard C, Foitzik S | title = Characterizing the collective personality of ant societies: aggressive colonies do not abandon their home | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 3 | pages = e33314 | date = 2012-03-21 | pmid = 22457751 | pmc = 3310061 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0033314 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...733314S | doi-access = free }} Study shows that if these ants live socially isolated, their interaction with their colony members decreases and their stress response changes.{{cite journal | vauthors = Scharf I, Stoldt M, Libbrecht R, Höpfner AL, Jongepier E, Kever M, Foitzik S | title = Social isolation causes downregulation of immune and stress response genes and behavioural changes in a social insect | journal = Molecular Ecology | volume = 30 | issue = 10 | pages = 2378–2389 | date = May 2021 | pmid = 33772940 | doi = 10.1111/mec.15902 | bibcode = 2021MolEc..30.2378S | s2cid = 232386870 }} {{lay source |template=cite news |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-04-ant-responses-social-isolation-resemble.html |title=Ant responses to social isolation resemble those of humans |date= 7 April 2021 |work=Phys.org }}

Temnothorax nylanderi is widely distributed across Western Europe, and a parapatric species (Temnothorax crassispinus) is found in Eastern Europe.{{cite journal | vauthors = Pusch K, Seifert B, Foitzik S, Heinze J | title = Distribution and genetic divergence of two parapatric sibling ant species in Central Europe. | journal = Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | date = June 2006 | volume = 88 | issue = 2 | pages = 223–34 | doi = 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00618.x | doi-access = free }} Hybridization can occur between the two species.{{cite journal | vauthors = Pusch K, Heinze J, Foitzik S | title = The influence of hybridization on colony structure in the ant species Temnothorax nylanderi and T. crassispinus. | journal = Insectes Sociaux | date = December 2006 | volume = 53 | issue = 4 | pages = 439–445 | doi = 10.1007/s00040-005-0891-8 | s2cid = 13576455 }}

Temnothorax nylanderi workers are known to have important size variations that do not seem to result from adaptations to their environment, but rather from a lack of canalization during larval development, likely to occur as these ants live in an environment where humidity and temperature can vary greatly.{{cite journal | vauthors = Colin T, Doums C, Péronnet R, Molet M | title = Decreasing worker size diversity does not affect colony performance during laboratory challenges in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi. | journal = Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology | date = June 2017 | volume = 71 | issue = 6 | pages = 92 | doi = 10.1007/s00265-017-2322-4 | s2cid = 6373423 | url = https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01525790/file/Colin_2017_Decreasing_worker.pdf }}

Intercaste individuals that share morphological traits of queens and workers are known to occur frequently.{{cite journal | vauthors = Okada Y, Plateaux L, Peeters C | title = Morphological variability of intercastes in the ant Temnothorax nylanderi: pattern of trait expression and modularity. | journal = Insectes Sociaux | date = August 2013 | volume = 60 | issue = 3 | pages = 319–328 | doi = 10.1007/s00040-013-0296-4 | s2cid = 6670560 }}

The morphology of these ants can be changed by a parasite, Anomotaenia brevis, that increases the amount of intercaste individuals and induces a change of colors (individuals infected by the cestod are more pale than other individuals).{{cite conference | vauthors = Lerp H, Mazur J, Binder H, Beros S, Foitzik S, Feldmeyer | date = July 2014 | title = Parasite-induced changes in host behavior and gene expression after infection | id = OR349 | url = https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/41238411.pdf | conference = 17th Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI) | location = Cairns, Australia }}

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{{AntCat|449867|Temnothorax nylanderi|2015|access-date=2 February 2015|name-list-style=vanc}}

{{cite book | vauthors = Förster A | date = 1850 | title = Hymenopterologische Studien. 1. Formicariae | location = Aachen | publisher = Ernst Ter Meer | page = 74 }}

{{cite journal | vauthors = Radchenko AG |date=2000 |title=What is "Leptothorax nylanderi" (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Russian and former Soviet literature? |journal=Annales Zoologici|volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=43–45 }}

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• {{commons category-inline|Temnothorax nylanderi|Temnothorax nylanderi}}

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Category:Myrmicinae

Category:Hymenoptera of Europe

Category:Insects described in 1850

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