Formica pulchella

Introduction

Formica pulchella is an extinct ant species known only from fossil specimens found in Miocene deposits in Switzerland. The species was originally described by Oswald Heer in 1849 based on three male specimens collected from Oeningen. These fossils represent ants that lived approximately 11-14 million years ago during the Miocene epoch. The known specimens measure about 3.5 lines in total length, with a relatively large head compared to other Formica fossils from the same deposits. Researchers have suggested these males may represent the male caste of Formica macrophthalma, another fossil species from the same region, based on their corresponding size and head structure .