 It is best in the field to examine the body coloration of a number of workers from each colony.Also, "M. rubra" has fewer strong rugae, and is more smooth on the lower half of the mesonotal pleura than "M. kotokui"; its propodeal spines are shorter, and the rugae on the anterior basal portion of the 1st gastral tergite are relatively weak and fewer in number.Although Japanese specimens differ morphologically from European "M. rubra" material, and resemble "M. kotokui" in petiolar morphology, the name "Myrmica rubra" is applied to them for the present.