Pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) in the nests of Formica ants in Slovakia

Abstrakt: The study presents new data on the occurrence of pseudoscorpions in anthills of Formica gagates Latreille, 1798 and Formica rufa Linnaeus, 1761 in Slovakia. Pseudoscorpions were collected from 10 sampling sites and 11 ant nests (two nests of F. gagates and nine nests of F. rufa). Altogether, 1041 pseudoscor­pions belonging to six species and three families were collected. Five species were obtained from anthills of F. rufa, in contrary to the nest of F. gagates, where only one species, Allochernes solarii (Simon, 1898), was present. The family Chernetidae was ranked first with four species, followed by families Atemnidae and Chthoniidae, each with one species. The most abundant species from the examined material was Allochernes wideri (C. L. Koch, 1843). On the other hand, only a single specimen of Atemnus politus (Simon, 1878) was recorded. This species is recorded from ant nests for the first time worldwide. Chernes vicinus (Beier, 1932), from the nests of F. rufa, is recorded for the first time for Slovakia.

Klíčová slova: Anthills, Central Europe, faunistics, Formicidae, Hymenoptera