Scientific publications

The article reports the first findings of the European Boreal-Alpine ant species Formica (Coptoformica) suecica Adlerz, 1902, which had been previously considered as an endemic of Fennoscandia and known for the Murmansk Region only from the White Sea coast following a Finnish expedition of 1913. In the Khibiny Mountains, F. suecica was found on the top of Mount Aikuaivenchorr, 1,055 meters above sea level (one female) and on the south-western slope of Mount Yumechorr, in the belts of mountain tundra and birch crooked forests within the altitude range of 380-505 m a. s. l. (three worker ants). Our findings in the Khibiny Mountains coincide in time and geography (67°36'-67°42'N, 33°15'-33°46'E) with the new northernmost records of F. suecica in Finnish Lapland (66-68°N, 25-27°E). They align with the idea about the gradual eastward dispersal of F. suecica from the western fjords of Norway, where this species was preserved in refugia during the last glaciation. Based on the findings in the Khibiny Mountains and taking into account the potential threats, F. suecica is included in the new edition of the Red Data Book of the Murmansk Region (2025) in the 'vulnerable' category. The article continues the series of notes on the invertebrates listed in the regional Red Data Book.