page_title: Formica incerta
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Formica incerta / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Head view of ant Formica incerta specimen casent0172884.
context_page_description: Formica incerta is a species of ant found in eastern North America. It is the most common species of Formica in many areas, and excavates underground nests with small entrance holes. Its diet includes nectar produced by extrafloral nectaries and honeydew, which it obtains from aphids and treehoppers. It is the main host for the slave-making ant Polyergus lucidus. F. incerta was first described by Italian entomologist Carlo Emery in 1893. Its specific name comes from the Latin incertus meaning "uncertain" and seems particularly apt given the subsequent uncertainty as to the validity of the species and the difficulty in distinguishing this ant from other species living in the same area.
context_section_description: A worker of F. incerta is very similar in appearance to Formica pallidefulva, but the former has a few chaetae on the mesosoma and around the petiole, while the latter does not. F. incerta is a slightly paler colour and less glossy than F. pallidefulva but  considerable variability exists between specimens and between colonies. The queen is larger than the workers and can be distinguished from a queen of other species by three dark spots on her thorax.
caption: Head of worker showing antennae, mandibles, 2 compound eyes and 3 simple eyes
exif: {"Image DocumentName": "AntWeb.org large sized head image of specimen casent0172884", "Image ImageDescription": "AntWeb.org image of Order:Hymenoptera Family:Formicidae Genus:Formica Species:Formica incerta Specimen:casent0172884 View:head", "Image Software": "EXIFutils V2.7.4", "Image DateTime": "2007:12:18 12:03:43", "Image Artist": "April Nobile", "Image Copyright": "Copyright AntWeb.org, 2000-2009. Licensing: Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 (cc-by-sa-3.0) Creative Commons License", "Image ExifOffset": "446", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220"}