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Contents : Structure of Ant Community (Hymenoptera Formicidae) in Oligotrophic Peat Bog G. M. Dlussky Moscow State University Faculty of Biology Moscow 119899 Russia Received December 7 2000 Abstract The fauna distribution and relations between ant species in the Bol shoe oligotrophic peat bog (Novgorod Province Valdai District) were studied in 1998 2000. Nine species were found in the bog: Formica candida F. Smith ( F. picea Nyl. F. transkaucasica Nass.) F. uralensis Ruzs. F. forsslundi Lohm. F. polyctena Foerst. Lasius platythorax Seifert Camponotus herculeanus (L.) Myrmica rubra (L.) M. scabrinodis Nyl. and Leptothorax acervorum (F.). The first three species are endemic to high bogs in European plains and F. candida and F. uralensis are usual inhabitants of steppe and forest-steppe ecosystems in Siberia. The spatial distribution of ant nests is mostly determined by shading and distance from bog margins whereas the nest density in open areas depends on the number of hummocks suitable for nest building. Swamp pine forests are inhabited only by forest ant species which occupy different layers: C. herculeanus is a dendrobiont L. platythorax is a herpetobiont M. rubra is a stratobiont and F. polyctena is the dominant species foraging on the ground and in tree crowns. The ant communities of open areas in the central part of the bog include endemic bog species (F. candida F. uralensis F. forsslundi) and some forest ones (L. platythorax M. rubra M. scabrinodis and L. acervorum). In the most species-rich associations F. uralensis is as a dominant and F. candida a subdominant whereas L. platythorax and both Myrmica species are influents. The absence of competition between F. candida and Myrmica is accounted for by different patterns of their foraging: F. candida forages on the ground and both Myrmica species within moss hummocks. L. platythorax competes with both F. candida and Myrmica species whereas M. scabrinodis and M. rubra compete with each other. It is assumed that the same kind of relations among different ant species took place in the late Pleistocene periglacial tundra-steppes.

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