Brukenthal. Acta Musei, VI.

3, 2011
Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: new records, distribution and
habitat preferences

APHAENOGASTER SUBTERRANEA (LATREILLE, 1798) (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) IN

ROMANIA: NEW RECORDS, DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT PREFERENCES

Ioan TĂUŞAN*
Oana Teodora BOTA**
Aurelia-Andreia ŞTEFU***
Adriana-Valentina CRAVĂ****

Abstract. Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) is a widely distributed Mediterranean species, whose
northern part of the range extends to the south of Central Europe. From Romania it’s known only from the
Southern part. We present the first records of this species from Transylvania and Dobrogea. The current
distribution and habitat preference of the species are given also.
Key words: new records, Aphaenogaster subterranea, habitats, distribution, ants

Rezumat. Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) are o distribuţie predominant mediteraneană, iar
limita nordică a specie se intinde până la sudul Europei Centrale. În România specia este cunoscută în
special din partea sudică. În prezenta lucrare, două noi semnalări sunt date pentru specie, primele din
Transilvania şi Dobrogea. De asemenea distrubuţia actuală şi cerinţe ale habitatelor sunt discutate.
Cuvinte cheie: semnalări noi, Aphaenogaster subterranea, habitate, distribuţie, furnici

Introduction
Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 is a large genus of
ants within the subfamily Myrmicinae with species
distributed in/over all of the zoogeographic regions,
except for the Ethiopian. From the Palaearctic
Region, 108 species and 24 subspecies are known,
(Bolton et al. 2007; Kiran et al. 2008).
Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) is
a widely distributed Mediterranean species, whose
northern part of the range extends to the south of
Central Europe. It is oligotopic species, associated
with warm deciduous forests (Czechowski et al.
2002; Seifert, 2007).
This species mainly inhabits moderately wet
and warm deciduous forests, nesting in the ground,
under stones, in rotten wood, rarely in litter. In
Germany, where it is recorded only in the south, A.
subterranea is found only in warm river valleys, in
particular on forest edges and in warm deciduous
forests, but also amongst shrubs in dry grasslands.
It forms fairly numerous colonies (from several
hundred to several thousand individuals). The
* Natural History Museum of Sibiu and Babeş-Bolyai
University of Cluj-Napoca,
itausan@gmail.com
** Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu,
oana_teodora_bota@yahoo.com
*** Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu,
stefuaureliaandreia@gmail.com
****Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu,
adriana.crava@yahoo.com
species is active at night (Czechowski et al. 2002).
The species was recorded from several sites
from Romania, mostly from the southern part, but
it has not been reported from Transylvania,
although the ant fauna of this region is well studied
(Markó, Csősz, 2002; Csősz, Markó, 2005; Markó
et al. 2006; Kiss, Fetykó, 2008; Tăuşan 2009;
Tăuşan, Markó 2009; Tăuşan, 2010).
This study offers the first record of
Aphaenogaster subterranea from Transylvania and
Dobrogea. Additionally we discuss the species
habitat preference and the present distribution in
Romania.
Material and methods
During a field trip in the summer 2011, a
population of Aphaenogaster subterranea was
discovered in a Natura 2000 site in Dumbrăveni
(Transylvania, Romania) in a forest with Quercus
pubescens (500 m a.s.l.) The species was captured
both in pitfall traps and within bait observations
(Fig. 1).
Investigating nine other forest sites in the same
area, all of them having a northern exposition, two
additional specimens were collected from a clear-
cut site. In addition to our collected material, A.
subterranea was also found in the ant collections
from the Natural History Museum of Sibiu. Three
workers were collected in Dobrogea (leg. Eckbert

459
 Brukenthal. Acta Musei, VI. 3, 2011
Ioan Tăuşan, Oana Teodora Bota, Aurelia-Andreia Ştefu, Adriana-Valentina Cravă
Schneider, 5.05.1971), from where no published
records of this species are known.
Discussion
The current known localities of the species are
Comana - Vlasca, Oraviţa, Corneşti, Cloşani,
Poaiana Stampei, Motrului Valley, Eşelniţa,
Oltenia (Knechtel, Paraschivescu, 1962; Cîrdei,
Bulimar 1965; Paraschiescu, 1967; Cîrdei et al.
1969; Fromunda et al. 1967; Paraschivescu 1974,
1975, 1976, 1978a, 1978b; Markó et al. 2006). So
far, all of the known records are from outside the
Carpathian arch, except one record. The presence
of A. subterranea in Poiana Stampei (Suceva
County) is quite questionable due to the fact that
the climate is not favourable for the species. Most
probably the species was misidentified with
Stenamma debille (Förster, 1850) (Bálint Markó
pers. comm.). Based on our records the northern
point for A. subterranea, in Romania, is
Dumbrăveni (Fig. 2).
A. subterranea mainly inhabits moderately wet
and warm deciduous forests, nesting in the ground,
under stones, in rotten wood, rarely in litter. In our
research we collected the specimens from
thermophilic Quercus pubescens forests. None the
less based on our observations, the species can
occur also in sites with colder climate, but with
high sun exposure (Fig. 3) and can be also highly
active in the day time showing aggressive
behaviour towards common forest species such as
460
Myrmica ruginodis Nylander 1846 (Fig. 4).
Comments
Despite that the ant fauna from Transylvania
was rather well studied new species can be
recorded. The species is expected to be widespread
mainly in Quercus pubescens forests. Although the
species is known from thermophilic habitats, our
records show that it can occur in sites with colder
climate, but with high exposure to the sun (clear-
cuts, etc.).
The species range can be extended in the
northern part of Romania due to its presence in
Hungary (Csősz et al. 2011), and in Ukraine in the
Transcarpathian province (Alexander Radchenko
pers. comm.).
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the comments of
Alexander Radchenko, Bálint Markó, Kadri Kiran,
Gregor Bračko and Steffen Pielström, improving
the first version of the manuscript. Also special
thanks go to Annamária Szász-Len for providing
useful distribution data of the species.
This work was possible with the financial
support of the Sectoral Operational Programme for
Human Resources Development 2007-2013, co-
financed by the European Social Fund, under the
project number POSDRU/107/1.5/S/76841 with
the title „Modern Doctoral Studies:
Internationalization and Interdisciplinarity”.
 Brukenthal. Acta Musei, VI. 3, 2011
Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: new records, distribution and
habitat preferences

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1. Aphaenogaster subterranea on bait

Fig. 2. Known distribution of Aphaenogaster subterranaea in Romania (black circles – new records; blank
circles– published records)
Fig. 3. Clear-cut habitat on a northern exposition in Dumbrăveni
Fig. 4. Aphaenogaster subterranea dominance on Myrmica ruginodis (white circle – A. subterranea, black
circle – M. ruginodis)

LISTA ILUSTRAŢIILOR

Fig. 1. Aphaenogaster subterranea în cazul observaţiilor pe momeli

Fig. 2. Distribuţia cunoscută a speciei Aphaenogaster subterranaea în Romania (cercuri negre – semnalări
noi; cercuri albe – date publicate)
Fig. 3. Clear-cut habitat on a northern exposition in Dumbrăveni
Fig. 4. Aphaenogaster subterranea dominance on Myrmica ruginodis (cerc alb – A. subterranea, cerc negru
– M. ruginodis)

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 Brukenthal. Acta Musei, VI. 3, 2011
Aphaenogaster subterranea (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: new records, distribution and
habitat preferences

Fig. 1. Aphaenogaster subterranea on bait (photo: I. Tăuşan)

Poiana Stampei

Dumbrãveni

Oravita
Cornesti
Closani
Eselnita
Histria
Bãneasa
Valea Motrului

Comana

Fig. 2. Known distribution of Aphaenogaster subterranaea in Romania (black circles – new records; blank
circles– published records)
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 Brukenthal. Acta Musei, VI. 3, 2011
Ioan Tăuşan, Oana Teodora Bota, Aurelia-Andreia Ştefu, Adriana-Valentina Cravă

Fig. 3. Clear-cut habitat on a northern exposition in Dumbrăveni (photo: I. Tăuşan)

Fig. 4. Aphaenogaster subterranea dominance on Myrmica ruginodis (photo: I. Tăuşan)

464