By Heike Feldhaar (University of Bayreuth, Germany)

Many people are fascinated by ants and their behaviour. Even children will often recognize these little busy-bodies that always seem to be determined to pursue their work. Ants have captured the attention of many hobby entomologists. At least in temperate regions of the world, they are an attractive and manageable group in terms of species number. However, species identification of ants is often difficult; in comparison to other insects, ants have seemingly fewer characters for easy identification, such as colour patterns of butterflies or bumblebees. Several ant genera, such as the Holarctic Lasius, Myrmica, or Formica, contain species that even professional myrmecologists have trouble identifying. Only a few very conspicuous ant species, such as Dolichoderus quadripunctatus or Lasius fuliginosus can be identified easily without magnifying glasses; many require some type of optical equipment. In the field, notes on the structure of nests or habitat features help to narrow down species identity.

A good guidebook should, therefore, include a workable key for species identification as well as an informative natural history section with detailed pictures. Bernhard Seifert’s The Ants of Central and North Europe (2018) provides precisely that. The book is divided into two major parts: a “General Part“ with an overview of ant natural history and ecology, and a “Special Part” with a key to all 180 species (for gynes and workers) occurring outdoors in Central and Northern Europe (and a few more that may expand their range into the region) and detailed natural history information for every species. Here, I describe the contents of these two parts in more detail.

The “General Part” (translated into English by Elva Robinson) comprises short chapters on the general morphology of ants, ecological aspects such as their habitats and nests, colony foundation and life cycles of colonies, social parasitism, natural enemies of ants, and feeding strategies. These feeding strategies include interactions of ants with trophobionts for honeydew consumption and seed dispersal by ants. This general part may be skipped by professional myrmecologists that are familiar with the general biology of ants and the corresponding terminology. For beginners, it lays the foundation for understanding the “Special Part” in which Seifert provides natural history details for every species.

The “Special Part” begins with a short introduction to ant determination and mounting, a list of the covered ant species (with a focus on Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Tyrolia), a checklist of German ants with information on their distribution within Germany (occurrence in federal states, vulnerability and broad ecological niche), and an overview of their ecological preferences and tolerances. This table covers ~ 90 of the 180 ant species and is based on over 200 plots studied by Seifert in Central Europe during the years 1979–2015. It provides detailed information on temperature and humidity preferences and occurrence patterns with respect to plant cover. Thus, the three tables focus on the area where Seifert was most active himself, and less information is available on other areas of the geographic range covered in the book, such as Fennoscandia, Great Britain or Northern France. However, Seifert lists occurrences and ecology of species in these areas in the detailed species accounts. This part is followed by three short chapters where Seifert discusses methods of taxonomic delimitation of species (morphology vs. genetics), justifies the method used by him, numeric morphology-based alpha-taxonomy (NUMOBAT), and defends Linnean binomial nomenclature. These three chapters are part of an ongoing debate among taxonomists, and amateur myrmecologists will most likely skip these four pages.

Seifert then provides an identification key from subfamily to species level (for gynes and workers) for the 180 ant species with outdoor occurrence and nine Mediterranean species that will likely expand their range into Central and Northern Europe due to climate warming. Tramp species are also included, which are mostly found in warm buildings such as larger greenhouses. The key is illustrated with line drawings for many characters that allow for easy comparison of different character states. These drawings might be challenging for beginners, such as the detailed drawings of antennal scapes viewed from different angles of Myrmica workers, but once the reader has grasped the concept, these drawings are very helpful and allow identification to species level. The key works well for slightly advanced ant enthusiasts for the majority of species. For a few species, optical equipment with a micrometer is required; this will not be available to most amateurs, but this is a hurdle in all insect groups and not a failing of this book.

The key is followed by a detailed description of the life histories and profiles of all ant species covered in the book. Bernhard Seifert provides detailed information on the geographic range, habitat and ecology, abundance and nest structure, colony demography and population structure, as well as nutrition and behavior of all species (if known!). These natural history notes are beneficial to beginners and professionals alike. They contain most of the basic information known for each species and are referenced very well, which allows an interested reader to quickly find more details for each species (the reference section contains more than 1,000 references!). Thus, the book is a great starting point for myrmecologists who want to know about the natural history of a particular ant species. The life history and reference sections are substantially extended in comparison to the German book Die Ameisen Mittel- und Nordeuropas, which appeared in 2007 (Lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft), making it not a mere translation of the former.

Students, amateur myrmecologists, and specialists will appreciate Bernhard Seifert’s The Ants of Central and North Europe. The “General Part” provides an excellent overview of general ant ecology and natural history to enthuse amateur myrmecologists, whereas the keys might be challenging for beginners but are very helpful for specialists as they allow the identification of most ant species occurring in Central and North Europe. The extensive information on each ant species makes it an essential reference about ants in this geographic region for all interested readers – from beginners wanting to know more about ants to professional myrmecologists.

Heike Feldhaar

Reference

Seifert, B. 2018. The Ants of Central and North Europe. – lutra Verlags – und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Tauer, Germany, 408 pp; ISBN 9783936412079 (hardcover), EU € 64.00.