page_title: Leptothorax acervorum
section_title: Morphology
hierarchical_section_title: Leptothorax acervorum / Morphology
caption_attribution_description: English: Head view of ant Leptothorax acervorum specimen casent0104846.
context_page_description: Leptothorax acervorum is a small brown to yellow ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. L. acervorum is vastly distributed across the globe, most commonly found in the coniferous forests of Central, Western and Northern Europe. The morphology of L. acervorum is extremely similar to that of other Leptothorax ants. The difference arises in the two-toned appearance of L. acervorum, with the head and metasoma being darker than the mesosoma segment of the body, and hair across its body. Following Bergmann's rule—unusually, for ectothermic animals—body size increases with latitude.
context_section_description: Leptothorax acervorum is a small red ant Similar to other ants, L. acercorum displays elbowed-antennae, metapleural glands, and a constriction of the second abdominal segment. The exoskeleton provides a protecting casing of the body, which can be divided into 3 segments: the head, mesosoma, and metasoma.  The head contains eyes that detect acute movement, three small ocelli to detect light and polarization, and two mandibles.  Attached to the head are two antennae. All six legs are attached to the mesosoma.  The metasoma houses vital internal organs. "The pedicel of the metasoma is two-segmented," which is unique for the Subfamily Myrmicinae.  The head and abdomen are dark, thereby giving the ant a two-toned appearance.  Individual ants are small, with workers measuring around 3 millimetres (0.12 in) in length and queens being only 10% larger.  Colonies are small compared to those of other ants—they have anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred workers and one to several queens.
caption: Leptothorax acervorum head
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