Leptothorax unifasciatus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Temnothorax unifasciatus is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Temnothorax unifasciatus exhibit the altruistic behavior of social withdrawal, or “altruistic self-removal” whilst on the brink of death. Dying ants will leave their nest hours or in some cases days before their death. The behavior is exhibited both in the presence of fungal infection as well as when experimentally exposed to 95% CO2, causing the ants to die in the absence of an acting pathogen. This indicates that the ants are in fact behaving in an altruistic manner, rather than experiencing behavioral manipulation as a result of pathogen influence. The action is altruistic because it reduces the risk of infecting other ants in the colony. This in turn minimizes the risk of transferring the infection to kin and thus likely results in a higher inclusive fitness for the socially withdrawing individuals.
Ant colonies exhibit altruistic behavior through the suppression of selfish egg-laying behavior on behalf of worker ants by means of “policing;” this is accomplished either through aggression or through direct disposal of the eggs. In a study entitled Policing Effectiveness Depends on Relatedness... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Leptothorax unifasciatus sighting in Lyon on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 318th most-seen of the 411 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, April–May and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Leptothorax unifasciatus in Lyon on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, June–July and September–December, the lowest months.
Only Lyon, in our data
Lyon is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Leptothorax unifasciatus sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Leptothorax unifasciatus that you can see in Lyon (family Formicidae, Ants) are Mediterranean Acrobat Ant (about 20%), Central European Bicolored Ant (about 10%) and European Gate-Keeper Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Leptothorax unifasciatus is recorded against all the insects logged in Lyon (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
