PSYCHE 
Vol. 87_1980 _Nos. 1-2 
FUNCTIONAL MONOGYNY, SEXUAL BEHAVIOR, AND 
KARYOTYPE OF THE GUEST ANT, 
LEPTOTHORAX PROVANCHERI EMERY 
(HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE) 
By Alfred Buschinger 1 , Andre Francoeur 2 and Karl Fischer 1 
1) Introduction 
The ant species Leptothorax provancheri was first detected by 
Provancher (1881, 1883) near the actual Quebec metropolitan region, 
in the locality of Cap-Rouge, Comte de Quebec, and described under 
the name Myrmica tuberum Fabricius. Emery (1895) recognized it as 
a new species to which he gave the present name. Following 
Creighton (1950), L. emersoni Wheeler (1901) and L. emersoni 
hirtipilis Wheeler (1917) are synonyms of L. provancheri. Thus the 
range of this species extends from eastern Canada and New England 
west to Alberta, and, with the subspecies L. provancheri glacialis 
Wheeler (1907), south to Colorado and northern New Mexico 
(Gregg, 1963). The subspecies glacialis is not recognized by other 
American myrmecologists. There is no sound basis to retain it at this 
moment. In the Catalog of Hymenoptera North of Mexico 
(U.S.N.M.), D.R. Smith did not retain it (1979). L. provancheri is 
allied to the subgenus Mychothorax Ruzsky, or Leptothorax sensu 
Smith (1950). Biological observations were made by Wheeler (1901, 
1903, 1910). From these it is known that L. provancheri (= emersoni) 
and its subspecies all are living together with host ants of the genus 
Myrmica, in a manner which resembles most the relations of 
Formicoxenus to its Formica hosts (xenobiosis). This means that L. 
provancheri constructs small nests in the earthen walls of the 
'Fachbereich Biologie, Institut fur Zoologie, der Technischen Hochschule, D 6100 
Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3; and 
2 Universite du Quebec, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada G7H2B1 
Manuscript received by the editor September 15, 1980. 
1 
