Formica japonica
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Formica japonica is a species of ant in the genus Formica. It is one of the most common ants in Japan, being found as well in Russia, Mongolia, China, Taiwan, and Korea. There is a suggestion that Formica japonica may be four separate "sibling species" as a study found four different hydrocarbon compositions throughout Japan that appeared to correspond to geographical populations, that is, the geographical populations smell different from one another. The comparisons of circular hydrocarbons revealed nestmate workers shared nearly identical blends of smells that contained all the common components of hydrocarbons but the hydrocarbon blends smelled differed among colonies. However, further research is needed to determine if the differences in hydrocarbon components are due to intraspecific variation or are due to interspecific variation and if hybridization occurs between different hydrocarbon compositions. It is not uncommon within insect taxonomy that reclassification such as this occurs, often with the continuation of time and advancement of technology, researchers are able to learn more about species. Furthermore, this delineation of species has occurred within Formica... Wikipedia →
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Wood Ant sighting in Seoul on a given day, based on 161 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th most-seen of the 525 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Wood Ant in Seoul on a given day, against under 5% in December to February, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Japanese Wood Ant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Japanese Wood Ant sightings, Seoul ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Gwangju (South Korea, about 40%), Busan (South Korea, about 20%) and Sendai (Japan, about 20%).
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Japanese Wood Ant that you can see in Seoul (family Formicidae, Ants) are Japanese Carpenter Ant (about 20%), Japanese Pavement Ant (about 10%) and Crematogaster matsumurai (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Wood Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Seoul (161 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.
