First record of Lasius illyricus Zimmermann, 1935 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Armenia

Abstract

The ant Lasius illyricus Zimmermann, 1935, a West-Palearctic member of the Lasius emarginatus-complex, was initially described as a subspecies of L. alienus (Foerster, 1850). Twenty years later, it became a junior synonym of L. alienus and then as junior synonym of its sibling species L. emarginatus (Olivier, 1792). Only recently its status as bona species was proposed. As a consequence, the knowledge over the distribution of this taxon is still very fragmented. Here we report its occurrence in Armenia for the first time, suggesting that it may be widespread around the Black Sea and Transcaucasia.