Centrotoma lucifuga Heyden, 1849

Staverløkk, Arnstein & Ødegaard, Frode, 2021, Two species of ant symbionts in colonies of Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus, 1758) new to Norway, Norwegian Journal of Entomology 68, pp. 260-267 : 265-266

Centrotoma lucifuga Heyden, 1849

This species was published new to the Nordic countries by Ødegaard (2021) based on a male found in a malaise trap. A new record from the same site is reported here.

Records: Norway, TELEMARK [ TEI], Seljord: Heggenes , N59.44181, E8.78982, 130 m asl., 22 September 2021, 1♀, leg . AS ( Figure 9 ). The specimen was found under a small rock together with a colony of T. caespitum and had a particularly quick response when detected.

Biology: The species has an obligatory association with Tetramorium caespitum , and the specimens are normally found in the ant colonies (Jeannell 1950, Besuchet 1974).

Distribution: Centrotoma lucifuga is widely distributed in central Europe north to Germany and Poland. The Norwegian occurrence of the species seems geographically isolated ( Ødegaard 2021).

biotopes in the south-east of Norway, extensive colonies of T. caespitum can be found among peat in cracks on the bedrock. However, since the symbiont species have a very specialized and concealed way of living, they may very well be overlooked elsewhere in Fennoscandia. The findings emphasize the importance of targeted search for such specialized species. During the recent years, several studies on ants have led to the discovery of new myrmecophilous species in Norway ( Ødegaard et al. 2015, Staverløkk & Ødegaard 2016). With emphasis of T. caespitum , there are still possible to find more species of symbionts in our region. Particularly, Tertamopria aurocincta ( Diapriidae ) and the social parasitic ant Strongylognatus testaceus (Schenck, 1852), which both have been recorded from southern Scandinavia, are likely to be found in Norway in the future.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Female of Centrotoma lucifuga Heyden, 1849, found in a nest of Tetramorium caespitum at Heggenes in Seljord municipality.