Formica kutscheri

Introduction

Formica kutscheri is an extinct ant species known only from Late Eocene amber deposits, approximately 44-34 million years old. Workers were tiny, with a slender body, large eyes, and distinctive long hairs covering the head, mesosoma, legs, and antennae . The species was originally described from Bitterfeld amber in Germany and has also been found in Rovno amber (Ukraine), the Gulf of Gdańsk region, and Jutland . This ant lived during a time when the climate of Europe was subtropical to tropical, much warmer than today.