# Dolichoderus mariae

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{{short description|Species of ant}}
{{Speciesbox
| taxon = Dolichoderus mariae
| image = Dolichoderus mariae casent0003312 profile 1.jpg
| image_caption = ''Dolichoderus mariae'' worker
| authority = [Forel](/source/Auguste_Forel), 1885
}}

'''''Dolichoderus mariae''''' is a [species](/source/species) of [ant](/source/ant) in the subfamily [Dolichoderinae](/source/Dolichoderinae) and is found in North America.

==Description==
This ant is distinctively coloured with the head, antennae, thorax, legs and petiole and the anterior part of the first abdominal segment reddish or ochre-brown. The remainder of the abdomen is black or deep brown. The [integument](/source/Integumentary_system) is smooth and reflective, though fine sculpturing granules can be seen under magnification. The [propodeum](/source/propodeum) is longer than it is wide. Posteriorly, the propodeum is concave with some fine vertical striations. The head and body are hairless.<ref name=INS>[http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1463&context=insectamundi&sei-redir=1#search=%22Dolichoderus+description%22 Identification and nesting Sites of North American species of ''Dolichoderus'']</ref>

==Distribution==
This ant has a wide range which includes [Illinois](/source/Illinois), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) and [Oklahoma](/source/Oklahoma), [North](/source/North_Carolina) and [South Carolina](/source/South_Carolina), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)), [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi), [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana) and northern [Florida](/source/Florida).<ref name=Season>{{citation | last1 = Laskis | first1 = Kristina O. | last2 = Tschinkel | first2 = Walter R. | title = The seasonal natural history of the ant, Dolichoderus mariae, in northern Florida. | url=http://www.insectscience.org/9.02/ | journal = Journal of Insect Science | volume = 9 | issue = 2 | year = 2009 |pages=1–26 | doi=10.1673/031.009.0201| pmc = 3011848 | pmid = 19611227 }}</ref>  The type locality is [Vineland, New Jersey](/source/Vineland%2C_New_Jersey).<ref>Smith, D. R., 1979. Superfamily Formicoidea. In Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Eds. Krombein, K. V., P. D. Hurd, Jr., D. R. Smith, and B. D. Burks. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D. C., P 1323-1467.</ref> It is common in some areas such as North and South Carolina, but rare in others and in the southern part of its range it can be confused with the similar species, ''[Dolichoderus pustulatus](/source/Dolichoderus_pustulatus)''.<ref name=INS/>

==Naming==
This species was discovered by [Mary Treat](/source/Mary_Treat), and is named for her. 

==Ecology==
This ant is found in prairies, glades and fens. It nests underground among plant roots.<ref>[http://www.antweb.org/description.do?name=mariae&genus=dolichoderus&rank=species&project=louisianaants AntWeb]</ref>

A study of this species was undertaken in northern Florida. It was found that the worker ants remove soil from under clumps of [wiregrass](/source/Aristida_stricta), other grasses or other fibrous rooted plants such as [blackberry](/source/blackberry) (Rubus spp.) or [cattails](/source/Typha) (Typha spp.). The nest is a single, large conical chamber, which is open to the air round the base of the plant. [Colonies](/source/Ant_colony) make a number of these nests which are linked by trails across the ground along which ants move from one to another. There are many queens per nest. Over the winter there are just one or two nests in a colony but as summer advances, more and more chambers are excavated and there may be as many as sixty nests by late summer. After this the number starts to contract again.<ref name=Season/> The colonies occupy roughly the same area each summer and territorial aggression has been noted between adjoining colonies. Within their territory, the ants tend and milk [aphid](/source/aphid)s and [scale insect](/source/scale_insect)s for their [honeydew](/source/Honeydew_(secretion)) and also scavenge for dead insects. The size of the colony and the number of nests seemed to depend on the number of [hemiptera](/source/hemiptera)ns in the territorial area. When these are abundant during the winter, the colony does not contract to such a great extent as when the season is harsh.<ref name=Season/>

Observations inside nests showed that the workers, queen, [alate](/source/alate)s and [brood](/source/Offspring) took up stations on the fibrous roots which formed a sort of scaffolding in their nests. The size of the nest varied with the size of the root system of the plant above. During the summer, above some of the nests, workers chewed bits of plant material to produce a papery felt or thatch. However, it was not clear why this was done for some nests and not others. During the winter, the average nest housed about 75,000 workers and 12 to 59 queens. In the summer, the number of workers ranged from 13,000 to 19,000 while there were about 180 queens per nest.<ref name=Season/> Alates first appeared in April but the majority were found in July. Nuptial flights took place early in the morning after heavy rains with thousands of male alates taking to the wing in search of other nests or colonies. The female alates mostly remained at their nests of origin where they presumably mated and joined the other queens already present.<ref name=Season/>

During the winter, the abandoned nests provide shelter for [vertebrate](/source/vertebrate)s and [invertebrate](/source/invertebrate)s such as [snake](/source/snake)s, [lizard](/source/lizard)s and ground dwelling [spider](/source/spider)s.<ref name=Season/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commonscat-inline|Dolichoderus mariae |''Dolichoderus mariae ''}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q3913910}}

mariae
Category:Hymenoptera of North America
Category:Insects described in 1885
Category:Taxa named by Auguste Forel

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dolichoderus mariae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichoderus_mariae) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolichoderus_mariae?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.