Borowiec, M.L.

First records of Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918) in Poland (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The ant Lasius sabularum (Bondroit, 1918), a temporary social parasite, was recently collected from two sites in Dolny Śląsk, southwest Poland. One nest was found at the base of a common hornbeam tree in a long-abandoned quarry on the western slope of the Ślęża massif and another collection was made from under a stone in a stand of low-growing oak trees west of Kunów. Intriguingly, the latter contained workers of both L. sabularum and L. umbratus (Nylander, 1846) but the nature of this association is unknown. This is the first report of L. sabularum from Poland, bringing the total count of native ant species to 97. A summary of the known distribution and biology of the species is given and future prospects for Polish ant faunistics are briefly discussed.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2011 The Author(s).

Ants, Formicidae, Lasius, Chthonolasius, Poland, new record, social parasitism, mixed nests, plesiobiosis.