Formica rufopratensis FOREL, 1874

Seifert, Bernhard, 2021, A taxonomic revision of the Palaearctic members of the Formica rufa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - the famous mound-building red wood ants, Myrmecological News 31, pp. 133-179 : 164

Formica rufopratensis FOREL, 1874

Formica rufa var. rufopratensis FOREL, 1874 [type investigation and zoogeography]

FOREL (1874) did not mention a type locality, and his description of worker and gyne may refer to Formica lugubris , Formica paralugubris , and Formica helvetica sp.n. A smaller set of morphological data available for two supposed type gynes in MNH Genève from the locality Barberine ( France, 46.050° N, 6.943° E) allow to exclude F. paralugubris but cannot separate the other two species. As F. helvetica sp.n. is considered to be restricted to East Switzerland and unlikely to occur farther west, I synonymize F. rufopratensis with F. lugubris . Alternatively, if the Barberine specimens are not recognized as types, F. rufopratensis has to be listed up under incertae sedis.