Aphaenogaster picea

Lighter coloration in the last four antennal segments distinguishes Aphaenogaster picea from the similar Aphaenogaster rudis; the latter species is more common at lower elevations while A. picea predominates above 900 meters elevation.

Collected at 900–1000 meters above sea level in Greene and Page Counties, Virginia, USA. Laboratory colonies maintained at 20°C, 50–80% humidity, with constant light exposure.

Eastern United States; documented in Vermont and Virginia. More common at higher elevations (>900 masl) than Aphaenogaster rudis.

Generalist omnivore: scavenges other insects and consumes nutritious elaiosomes attached to seeds. Laboratory colonies fed artificial diet (egg powder, whey protein, calcium caseinate, sucrose, vitamins, agar) supplemented with sucrose water.

Colonies consist of 100–300 workers with healthy queens and observable larvae. Workers exhibit behavioral task specialization without morphological subcastes: nurse workers (feeding larvae, intranidal), foragers (foraging outside nest, extranidal), and generalists (performing both tasks).

Workers do not perform trophallaxis (fluid food transfer between individuals). No specialized proventriculus filter present. Workers marked with paint for individual identification in studies; time outside nest used to classify worker types: nurses (<25% extranidal), generalists (25–75%), foragers (>75%). Interaction with refuse piles and fecal matter influences gut microbiota composition independent of worker type.

Seed dispersal through elaiosome consumption. Refuse pile interaction influences gut microbiota composition.

• Aphaenogaster rudisSimilar morphology but distinguished by darker coloration in last four antennal segments; A. picea predominates at higher elevations (>900 masl) while A. rudis is more common at lower elevations.
• Aphaenogaster mariaeBoth in genus Aphaenogaster but A. mariae is arboreal, nesting in dead branches and tree holes, whereas A. picea is ground-nesting.

• ants
• Formicidae
• gut microbiome
• task specialization
• refuse piles
• seed dispersal
• elaiosomes
• elevation gradient
• Virginia
• Vermont

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
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• Interaction with refuse piles drives co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea
• Interaction with refuse piles is associated with co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea
• Interaction with refuse piles is associated with co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea
• Interaction with refuse piles is associated with co-occurrence of core gut microbiota in workers of the ant Aphaenogaster picea