No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - A taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica, C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups
... Cardiocondyla obscurior is a species of Indomalayan origin that established alien populations in Africa, Europe, Central, Northern and Southern America, and Oceania (Seifert 2003;Wetterer 2015;Guénard et al. 2017). In the West-Palearctic it was first collected in Palestine/Israel in 1930 and 1945, and in Germany and in the Canary Islands in 1999 (Seifert 2003) (Figure 1a). ...
... Cardiocondyla obscurior is a species of Indomalayan origin that established alien populations in Africa, Europe, Central, Northern and Southern America, and Oceania (Seifert 2003;Wetterer 2015;Guénard et al. 2017). In the West-Palearctic it was first collected in Palestine/Israel in 1930 and 1945, and in Germany and in the Canary Islands in 1999 (Seifert 2003) (Figure 1a). In recent years, many new records testified a rapid expansion to other countries in the region (Figure 1a (Boer et al. 2018), and in Greece (Rhodes) in 2022 (Demetriou et al. 2023b). ...
... Identification was performed using the keys of Seifert (2003;2023b), with morphometric data recorded on a colony sample of three workers. Cardiocondyla obscurior is easily distinguishable from most other Cardiocondyla species occurring in the region but can be confused C. wroughtonii (Forel, 1890) (Seifert 2023b). ...
We report for the first time the occurrence of the alien ant Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929 on the Greek island of Crete. Cardiocondyla obscurior is one of many congeneric taxa with worldwide success as tramp species, having attained a cosmopolitan distribution while having Indomalayan origins. It was first detected in Europe in 1999, and since 2015 it has started to be found outdoors in Southern European countries. Our record is the first in Europe in which the species is observed to be established outdoors in an agricultural area. Introduced Cardiocondyla ants are generally thought to have little ecological impact, although targeted studies have been lacking. Cardiocondyla obscurior is the third species of its genus to be found on the island of Crete, which is characterized by a remarkable ant diversity.
... The Myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla Emery, 1869 includes 82 described species and two valid subspecies (Bolton, 2023), all native to the Old World (Brown, 2000;Seifert, 2003). Species of the genus are minute in size, and typically nest directly in soil or rarely under stones (Seifert, 2003). ...
... The Myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla Emery, 1869 includes 82 described species and two valid subspecies (Bolton, 2023), all native to the Old World (Brown, 2000;Seifert, 2003). Species of the genus are minute in size, and typically nest directly in soil or rarely under stones (Seifert, 2003). Several species of Cardiocondyla including C. emeryi Forel, 1881, C. minutior Forel, 1899, C. obscurior Wheeler, 1929, and C. wroughtonii (Forel, 1890, are successful tramp species. ...
... The Afrotropical fauna of Cardiocondyla has been revised by Bolton (1982) who recognized and keyed nine species and described four new species. In a seminal taxonomic work, Seifert (2003) revised Palaearctic Cardiocondyla species--groups and described 20 new species. In an additional revision, Seifert et al., (2017) treated the taxonomy of the Cardiocondyla nuda species-group based on numerical morphology, alpha-taxonomy (NUMOBAT), and genetic analysis of mitrochondrial DNA (mtDNA). ...
A new species, Cardiocondyla hashemi sp. n. is described and illustrated using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) based on the worker caste. Cardiocondyla hash-emi is a member of the C. batesii species-group with a resemblance to C. tenuifrons Seifert, 2003 from Jordan. Cardiocondyla hashemi can be readily distinguished by the uniform yellow body, the rare or distinctly scattered foveolae on the posterior third of cephalic surface, the broadly medially concave anterior clypeal margin, the sculptured mesosomal dorsum except for the mesonotum which is shallowly sculptured with faint longitudinal rugae, and petiolar node distinctly densely microreticulate. Ecological and biological remarks on the type locality are given. A key to the Saudi fauna of the genus Cardiocondyla is presented. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1DB79558-0CE0-413B-A6EB-9E0ABB884882
... The identification of the ants was performed by comparing the specimens with type material deposited in museum collections such as that of MNHW alongside regional works on European ants and recent published revisions for genera and species complexes/groups (Agosti and Collingwood 1987;Seifert 2003Seifert , 2018Seifert , 2020Czechowski et al. 2012;Seifert et al. 2017;Wagner et al. 2017). ...
... A dichotomous identification key to distinguish alien from native ant species inhabiting Cyprus was constructed using available scientific literature and specimens (Seifert 2003;Sharaf et al. 2016;Salata et al. 2020;Gotzek and Martinez 2021;Borowiec and Salata 2022). Additionally, several alien and invasive alien species included in the 100 of the world's worst invasive alien species (Anoplolepis gracilipes, Linepithema humile, Pheidole megacephala, Solenopsis invicta and Wasmannia auropunctata) (GISD 2023), alien invasive species of Union Concern (Solenopsis geminata, S. invicta, S. richteri and W. auropunctata) (EU 2022/1203), species listed in a horizon scanning exercise (Peyton et al. 2019) (L. ...
... Notes. Cardiocondyla mauritanica is known to prefer xerothermous, urban and semi-arid environments (Seifert 2003;Wetterer 2014b). According to its ecological preferences, in Cyprus it has been collected from the lowlands, in disturbed areas with evident human interference. ...
Biological invasions are considered a major driver of biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Invasive alien ants can often have severe consequences on native biodiversity. Here, we review published and new information on alien ant species found on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, a biodiversity hotspot. Our checklist of alien ants of Cyprus includes a total of 17 species, of which nine are reported from Cyprus for the first time (*): Camponotus cf. vitiosus Smith, Cardiocondyla mauritanica Forel, 1890, Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, W.M., 1929*, Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger, 1859)*, Monomorium bicolor Emery, 1877, Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr, 1904), Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802), Pheidole fadli Sharaf, 2007*, Pheidole indica Mayr, 1879, Solenopsis sp. (thief ant)*, Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander, 1846)*, Tetramorium caldarium (Roger, 1857)*, Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, 1927*, Tetramorium lanuginosum Mayr, 1870*, Trichomyrmex destructor (Jerdon, 1851), Trichomyrmex mayri (Forel, 1902)*, and Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863). We did not include three previously reported alien species for which we could not find supporting specimens [Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus, 1758), Nylanderia vividula (Nylander, 1846), Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804)], one based on a previous misidentification [Cardiocondyla nuda (Mayr, 1866)], and two species now considered native to Cyprus [Hypoponera eduardi (Forel, 1894), Monomorium subopacum (F. Smith, 1858)]. Literature records, specimens from field surveys and museum collections, the geographic origin of species, occupied habitats in Cyprus, and notes on invasiveness (spread and impact) are presented for each species. An identification key to distinguish alien from native ant species in Cyprus is provided, including widespread alien ants not yet known from Cyprus in order to support early detection, monitoring, and management efforts.
... Several Cardiocondyla species are cosmotropical tramps, which live in parks, plantations, along beaches, and roadsides around the world (Seifert, 2003;Heinze et al., 2006;Wetterer, 2014Wetterer, , 2015. Among these is Cardiocondyla venustula Wheeler, 1908, a species originally described from the Caribbean islands of Culebra and Puerto Rico. ...
... Among these is Cardiocondyla venustula Wheeler, 1908, a species originally described from the Caribbean islands of Culebra and Puerto Rico. C. venustula belongs to the C. shuckardi group, a complex of ants that are widespread throughout the Afrotropical realm (Seifert, 2003(Seifert, , 2023. Colonies of these taxa consist of only a few dozen workers and may live in high densities of two or more nests per m² in the ground in natural grassland but also in parks and plantations (Jacobs & Heinze, 2019). ...
... This appears to be particularly the case in the C. shuckardi group. Seifert (2003) recognized six valid species (in addition to C. shuckardi Forel, 1891and C. venustula, C. fajumensis Forel, 1913, C. unicalis Seifert, 2003, C. melana Seifert, 2003, C. longiceps Seifert, 2003 and recently (Seifert, 2023) added C. zoserka Bolton, 1982, andC. sekhemka Bolton, 1982 to this group. ...
The myrmicine ant genus Cardiocondyla consists of around 80 species of small, inconspicuous ants, which live mainly in subtropical and tropical Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. Several species have been accidentally introduced to America and have also invaded numerous originally ant-free islands around the world. The diversity of life histories in this genus, with lethally fighting wingless males, dominance hierarchies among queens, and considerable variation in the sociogenetic organization of colonies across species, has made it an interesting model to investigate the evolution and behavioral ecology of reproductive strategies. Taxa of the African Cardiocondyla shuckardi group are of particular interest, as in a phylogeny they lie between facultatively polygynous species with fatal male competition and monogynous species with mutually tolerant males. Studies on male behavior and sociogenetics in C. “venustula,” a widespread member of the C. shuckardi group, showed that males defend small territories inside their subterraneous nests. At the same time, they revealed a surprisingly large variability in mtDNA haplotypes both within and between populations in South Africa, Angola, and Côte d’Ivoire. As the different lineages are very similar in morphology and nuclear markers, more research is needed to clarify the very confused taxonomic situation in this fascinating group of ants.
... Records of alien ant species reported from Greece were searched through AntMaps (Janicki et al. 2016;Guénard et al. 2017), available scientific literature (Forel 1886(Forel , 1910Collingwood 1993;Seifert 2003Seifert , 2020Bolton and Fischer 2011;Borowiec and Salata 2012, 2013, 2018a, b, d, 2021aSeifert et al. 2017a, b;Wagner et al. 2017;Borowiec 2018, 2019a, b;Salata et al. 2019Salata et al. , 2020Tseng et al. 2019;Borowiec et al. 2021 and were subsequently catalogued. In addition, samples in the collections of L. Borowiec and S. Salata (Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Poland -DBET), and Ch. ...
... Identifications were based on the largest collection of Balkan ants preserved in the Museum of Natural History, University of Wroclaw, Poland -MNHW, knowledge resulting from studies on this collection in the last 12 years, comparative studies on types of European ants and several earlier regional works on European ants such as Agosti and Collingwood (1987), Czechowski et al. (2012), Seifert (2018), and recent revisions for genera and species complexes/groups e.g. Wagner et al. (2017) for the Tetramorium caespitum group, Seifert (2003) for the genus Cardiocondyla, Seifert et al. (2017a) for the Tapinoma nigerrimum group, and Seifert (2020) for the genus Lasius. ...
... Notes. Presumably native to Northern Africa, C. mauritanica is a xerothermophilous species found both in natural and man-made habitats (Seifert 2003;Wetterer 2014; Carpintero and Reyes-López 2014; Schifani and Alicata 2018; present study). In Greece, it has been collected from artificial, agricultural, semi-and natural habitats including protected areas (Suppl. ...
Biological invasions represent one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss with adverse impacts on human societies, economies and public health. More than 500 ant species have been transported outside their native range with the help of humans, while the majority of them have managed to establish viable populations in the wild. Nevertheless, data from the Mediterranean region suggest that most alien ants occupy anthropogenic habitats with little spread in semi-natural and natural habitats. Research on biological invasions of ants in Greece had previously identified a total of 15 alien ant species. In this article, an extensive literature investigation and material examination provide a revised checklist of the alien myrmecofauna of Greece. Although the number of alien ant species remains the same, the checklist's composition is largely altered to provide an up-to-date overview of the country's alien myrmecofauna in order to enhance management decisions and future research. The presence and distribution of alien ants within Greek administrative divisions, NATURA 2000 sites and Corine Land Cover types are analysed and presented. In particular , the species richness of alien ants seems to be highest in the Aegean Archipelago (Crete and Southern Aegean Islands) probably due to uneven collecting efforts and increased climatic suitability. Alien ant species are mostly associated with anthropogenic habitats including urban and agricultural areas, although a significant percentage has managed to spread into forest and semi-natural areas, including protected NATURA 2000 sites. Future research directions enhancing the monitoring of alien ants and their impacts are indicated to safeguard native ant biodiversity and conservation efforts of rare and endemic taxa.
... Presente también en el norte de África, es la especie del género más extendida en el sur peninsular, aunque en el norte las citas son por ahora mucho más dispersas. Se conoce de las provincias de Alicante (Casiraghi et al., 2020), Albacete (Catarineu et al., 2018), Almería (De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Acosta et al., 1983b;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2009), Ciudad Real (Menozzi, 1922;Seifert, 2003;Sánchez-Gil & Reyes-López, 2016), Córdoba (Reyes, 1985), Granada (Ortiz & Tinaut, 1989;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2007), Huelva (Carpintero et al., 2001;Luque et al., 2002), Huesca (Espadaler, 1986;Seifert, 2003), Jaén (Acosta, 1977;Seifert, 2003), Lleida , Madrid (Acosta et al., 1983a), Murcia (Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969;Catarineu et al., 2017;Catarineu et al., 2018), Sevilla (Forel, 1895;De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Reyes López & Luque García, 2001), Valencia (Vanaclocha et al., 2005), y Zaragoza (Espadaler, 1997b). En Portugal se conocen tres citas (Seifert, 2003;AIM, 2015;Patanita et al., 2019) (Fig. 5). ...
... Presente también en el norte de África, es la especie del género más extendida en el sur peninsular, aunque en el norte las citas son por ahora mucho más dispersas. Se conoce de las provincias de Alicante (Casiraghi et al., 2020), Albacete (Catarineu et al., 2018), Almería (De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Acosta et al., 1983b;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2009), Ciudad Real (Menozzi, 1922;Seifert, 2003;Sánchez-Gil & Reyes-López, 2016), Córdoba (Reyes, 1985), Granada (Ortiz & Tinaut, 1989;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2007), Huelva (Carpintero et al., 2001;Luque et al., 2002), Huesca (Espadaler, 1986;Seifert, 2003), Jaén (Acosta, 1977;Seifert, 2003), Lleida , Madrid (Acosta et al., 1983a), Murcia (Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969;Catarineu et al., 2017;Catarineu et al., 2018), Sevilla (Forel, 1895;De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Reyes López & Luque García, 2001), Valencia (Vanaclocha et al., 2005), y Zaragoza (Espadaler, 1997b). En Portugal se conocen tres citas (Seifert, 2003;AIM, 2015;Patanita et al., 2019) (Fig. 5). ...
... Presente también en el norte de África, es la especie del género más extendida en el sur peninsular, aunque en el norte las citas son por ahora mucho más dispersas. Se conoce de las provincias de Alicante (Casiraghi et al., 2020), Albacete (Catarineu et al., 2018), Almería (De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Acosta et al., 1983b;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2009), Ciudad Real (Menozzi, 1922;Seifert, 2003;Sánchez-Gil & Reyes-López, 2016), Córdoba (Reyes, 1985), Granada (Ortiz & Tinaut, 1989;Seifert, 2003;Tinaut et al., 2007), Huelva (Carpintero et al., 2001;Luque et al., 2002), Huesca (Espadaler, 1986;Seifert, 2003), Jaén (Acosta, 1977;Seifert, 2003), Lleida , Madrid (Acosta et al., 1983a), Murcia (Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969;Catarineu et al., 2017;Catarineu et al., 2018), Sevilla (Forel, 1895;De Haro & Collingwood, 1977;Reyes López & Luque García, 2001), Valencia (Vanaclocha et al., 2005), y Zaragoza (Espadaler, 1997b). En Portugal se conocen tres citas (Seifert, 2003;AIM, 2015;Patanita et al., 2019) (Fig. 5). ...
In the Foral Community of Navarra (Spain), 60 species of formicids were known, to which five more are added: Camponotus foreli Emery, 1881, Camponotus piceus (Leach, 1825), Cardiocondyla batesii Forel, 1894, Myrmica spinosior Santschi, 1931 and Tetramorium impurum (Förster, 1850).
... There are only two modern revisionary works dealing with particular species groups of Cardiocondyla ants and there is no advanced revision comprehending the whole global fauna. Seifert [9] considered nine species groups with 49 species and Seifert et al. [10] directed special analytical attention to the eight species of the Cardiocondyla nuda group. My intention to finally write a revision of the whole global fauna became postponed for indeterminate time when it came to my knowledge that Peter Hawkes from Pretoria/South Africa simultaneously writes a paper describing some eight new species from Africa (Hawkes pers. ...
... Eight species with distributional center in the Orientalic and Australasian region of which two are worldwide tramp species. C. minutior Forel, 1899, C. goa Seifert, 2003, C. tjibodana Karavajev, 1935, C. schulzi n.sp., C. carbonaria Forel, 1907, C. opaca Seifert, 2003, C. britteni Crawley, 1920, C. parvinoda Forel, 1902. Analyzed in this paper on species level. ...
... Eight species with distributional center in the Orientalic and Australasian region of which two are worldwide tramp species. C. minutior Forel, 1899, C. goa Seifert, 2003, C. tjibodana Karavajev, 1935, C. schulzi n.sp., C. carbonaria Forel, 1907, C. opaca Seifert, 2003, C. britteni Crawley, 1920, C. parvinoda Forel, 1902. Analyzed in this paper on species level. ...
The world-wide fauna of the genus Cardiocondyla is assessed to have 79 currently recognized species and is subdivided into 14 informal species groups plus three monotypical clades. It is argued that the phylogenetic placement of Cardiocondyla next to the genus Ocymyrmex Emery, 1886 as proposed by Blaimer et al. (2018) is doubtful. The main body of the paper is a species-level taxonomic revision of those six species groups and the one monotypical clade which have their centers of origin in the Oriental and Australasian regions. The fauna of this area comprises 26 species eleven of which are described as new: Cardiocondyla schulzi n.sp., C. argentea n.sp., C. semiargentea n.sp., C. argyrotricha n.sp., C. latifrons n.sp., C. micropila n.sp., C. allonivalis n.sp., C. excavata n.sp., C. goroka n.sp., C. subspina n.sp. and C. sulcata n.sp. Recognized as junior synonyms were: Cardiocondyla tsukuyomi Terayama, 1999 and C. breviscapus Seifert, 2003 of C. minutior Forel, 1899 and C. brevispinosa (Donisthorpe, 1948) of C. paradoxa Emery, 1897. Each confirmed species is characterized by verbal descriptions, 18 numerically recorded phenotypic characters, z-stack images in three viewing positions, the key, a differential diagnosis and, if available, a brief life history. Exploratory and hypothesis-driven data analyses of phenotypic characters support the separation of the cryptic species Cardiocondyla minutior Forel, 1899, C. goa Seifert, 2003 and C. tjibodana Karavajev, 1935, two of which have dispersed as tramp species to the New World. Missing development of postzygotic isolation due to very strong prezygotic barriers is indicated in the closely related species Cardiocondyla latifrons n.sp. and C. micropila n.sp. which produce fertile hybrids in laboratory rearings but apparently do not hybridize in a natural context even if nesting in close neighborhood. The strong prezygotic isolation is supposed to be generated by the prevalence of intranidal mating and the difficulty for a mated heterospecific gyne to become accepted in a foreign colony.
... The genus is monomorphic. Select groups within this genus (including Australian taxa) were revised by Seifert (2003) and by that author with the assistance of colleagues (Seifert et al. 2017). ...
... This species nests in vegetation. New colonies of this polygynous ant are often founded by nest splitting (Seifert 2003). ...
... Certainly, this species does not appear to be native to Perth, where it only occurs in highly disturbed habitats. There is a possible record from Koolan Island, in the Kimberley (Seifert 2003; not mapped), but other WA records are confined to the Perth region. In other parts of Australia this species occurs in the NT, QLD, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands and the islands of the Torres Strait. ...
This is the secod part of a 2 volume Guide to the ants of Western Australia. This volume examines the ecology and distribution of Western Australian ants.
... The genus is monomorphic. Select groups within this genus (including Australian taxa) were revised by Seifert (2003) and by that author with the assistance of colleagues (Seifert et al. 2017). ...
... This species nests in vegetation. New colonies of this polygynous ant are often founded by nest splitting (Seifert 2003). ...
... Certainly, this species does not appear to be native to Perth, where it only occurs in highly disturbed habitats. There is a possible record from Koolan Island, in the Kimberley (Seifert 2003; not mapped), but other WA records are confined to the Perth region. In other parts of Australia this species occurs in the NT, QLD, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands and the islands of the Torres Strait. ...
... Emery originally described the genus Cardiocondyla in 1969. According to Seifert (2003), this is native to Afrotropical, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, Oceania, and Palearctic regions. A total of 72 valid species and two valid subspecies has been described worldwide (Antweb, 2020). ...
... A total of 72 valid species and two valid subspecies has been described worldwide (Antweb, 2020). Ants of this genus are commonly found in naturally disturbed sites, wood margin, sand dunes, near the roadside, and often in an environment with less water availability (Seifert, 2003). Workers can be diagnosed based on the following characters; small to minute in size, mandibles with five teeth (variable in size). ...
... The propodeal declivity is unarmed to bi-spinose. Pilosity very sparse or absent dorsally (Seifert, 2003). Chapman and Capco (1951); Radchenko (1995); MacKay (1995); Rigato (2002); Seifert (2003). ...
Ants of the genus Cardiocondyla are considered omnivorous in nature. This genus is native to Afrotropical, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, Oceania, and Palearctic regions. A total of 72 valid species and 2 valid subspecies has been described worldwide. However, little is known about these ants in Pakistan. As a result of a survey of different sites in the Gatwala park of district Faisalabad during 2018, we collected individuals of the genus Cardiocondyla. Collected specimens were identified using the most recent and available literature. Prior to current work, only two species of this genus were reported for Pakistan. In this study we added the first record of Cardiocondyla obscurior for Pakistan, followed by a brief description, distribution, and identification key.
... Emery originally described the genus Cardiocondyla in 1969. According to Seifert (2003), this is native to Afrotropical, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, Oceania, and Palearctic regions. A total of 72 valid species and two valid subspecies has been described worldwide (Antweb, 2020). ...
... A total of 72 valid species and two valid subspecies has been described worldwide (Antweb, 2020). Ants of this genus are commonly found in naturally disturbed sites, wood margin, sand dunes, near the roadside, and often in an environment with less water availability (Seifert, 2003). Workers can be diagnosed based on the following characters; small to minute in size, mandibles with five teeth (variable in size). ...
... The propodeal declivity is unarmed to bi-spinose. Pilosity very sparse or absent dorsally (Seifert, 2003). Chapman and Capco (1951); Radchenko (1995); MacKay (1995); Rigato (2002); Seifert (2003). ...
Ants of the genus Cardiocondyla are considered omnivorous in nature. This genus is native to Afrotropical, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, Oceania, and Palearctic regions. A total of 72 valid species and 2 valid subspecies has been described worldwide. However, little is known about these ants in Pakistan. As a result of a survey of different sites in the Gatwala park of district Faisalabad during 2018, we collected individuals of the genus Cardiocondyla. Collected specimens were identified using the most recent and available literature. Prior to current work, only two species of this genus were reported for Pakistan. In this study we added the first record of Cardiocondyla obscurior for Pakistan, followed by a brief description, distribution, and identification key.
... Little is known about the colony structure and male behaviour of the members of the C. stambuloffii Forel, 1892 group, which is distributed from southeast Europe eastwards to Tibet and Mongolia (Seifert, 2002). Forel (1892) described yellowish wingless males from nests of C. stambuloffii found close to the shore of the Black Sea in Bulgaria, and Arnoldi (1926) reported on the presence of multiple wingless males in colonies excavated from sandy beaches and salt marshes on the northeastern shores of the Black Sea. ...
... Aim of our study was to test this hypothesis by investigating the colony structure of a taxon of the C. stambuloffii group from southern Georgia by microsatellite genotyping. Many species of Cardiocondyla are morphologically very similar and can only be determined by detailed morphometry and comparison with material of other species (Seifert, 2002(Seifert, , 2009. Furthermore, workers of the C. stambuloffii group may vary considerably in their morphology (Arnoldi, 1926). ...
... Morphometry. Morphometric analyses were done following Seifert (2002) and Seifert, Okita, and Heinze (2017) with seven workers collected in June 2019 in Parekha, Akhaltsikhe, three workers collected in June 2019 in Grakali, six workers of C. koshewnikovi from Kazakhstan, Zayan region (47° 42'N, 85°18'E, 496 m), three workers of C. stambuloffii from Stepnoje, Stavropolij Kraj, Russia, and two workers of C. stambuloffii from Slantshev Brjag, Bulgaria (the specimens from Russia and Bulgaria provided by B. Seifert). ...
The ant genus Cardiocondyla is characterised by a remarkable variability of reproductive
life histories and colony structures. Little is known about the C. stambuloffii
group, whose distribution extends from southeast Europe to central and eastern Asia.
We here present data on the structure of Cardiocondyla colonies from southern Georgia.
Morphometry and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunits
I and II indicates that it is distinct from the other species of this group (C. gibbosa, C.
koshewnikovi, C. stambuloffii, and C. tibetana). Microsatellite analysis revealed a high
nestmate relatedness and frequent inbreeding, matching the observation of exclusively
wingless males and the phylogenetic position of the group in the “Palaearctic clade,” in
which colonies are typically single-queened.
... Ant identification. The keys used to identify ants were from Bolton (1977), Eguchi (2001), Ward (2001), Seifert (2003), Clouse (2007), Fernández and Guerrero (2008), Heterick (2009), Yamane (2009), Sorger and Zettel (2011, Kallal and La Polla (2012), , Shattuck and Slipinska (2012), La Polla and (2017), and Barabag and Jaitrong (2022). Ant diversity analysis. ...
... Wheeler (1906) coined the word "tramp" species to denote ants that are stowaways and made their ways to many islands and many areas including urban settings (Allen et al. 1906) The ants that were considered in literature to be tramp species that were collected in this study were: Hypoponera punctatissima, a widespread ponerine tramp species, this small ant can be found nesting in settings that vary from litter, soil, and rotten wood in forests to disturbed sites such as gardens and fields (Bolton & Fisher 2011); Monomorium floricola, according to Weterrer (2010) is one of the world's most broadly distributed tramp ants; Klotz et al. (1995) reiterated that Tapinoma melanocephalum is a widespread tropical tramp species, introduced throughout the world, nests are found in the soil, under stones, fallen trees, tree barks and in other crevices while its native range is unknown; Technomyrmex albipes, according to Bolton (2007) is an extremely successful tramp species that nests and forages both terrestrially and arboreally, and may invade houses; Cardiocondyla wroughtonii, a tramp species probably originating in South East Asia, is now widespread in the tropics and subtropics. It is arboreal and typically nests in hollows in decaying branches and plant cavities such as grass stems, and is found in open areas, grassland, and forest margins (Seifert 2003). All these so-called "tramp" species were observed and collected in areas in Site 1 (see Table 1) and could be considered as nearest to being endemic to the urban setting. ...
Surveys and diversity studies of ants in urban areas in the Philippines are very few. The present study examined the composition, diversity, and relative abundance in the highly urbanized National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines. A total of 4,765 individual ants, belonging to 21 species, 22 genera and 6 subfamilies were identified. The findings showed that both diversity measures, H'=1.899, D=0.804, were higher in Site 1 than in Site 2 (H' =1.788, D=0.788). The presence of two forest patches in Site 1 may have favored higher H' and D. Site 1 also had higher relative abundance value as it had 21 ant species observed and three of them were collected in all sampling sites (site occurrence = 8/8). There was a moderate degree of community coefficient similarity (CC = 0.67) in terms of ant diversity as 11 species were collected on both sites. Among the ant species collected, Solenopsis geminata Fabricius (1 st), Pheidole sp. (5 th), Paratrechina longicornis Latreille (7 th) for Site 1, and once again, P. longicornis (2 nd), for Site 2 was quantitatively computed as the most diverse based on their relative abundance ranking and their site occurrence values. Beta diversity was highest in urban forest park with La Mesa Eco Park (H'=0.8, site 1.6) and lowest in the narrow median lane in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig (H'=0.2, site 2.6). The study indicates that certain ant species have well adapted to human activities in urban areas. Similarly, the findings stress the importance of maintaining forest parks and forest patches in urban areas to maintain ant biodiversity.
... Fertile queens are intolerant of each other and do not jointly start new colonies. As queen-worker dimorphism is only slightly more pronounced in monogynous than polygynous Cardiocondyla (Seifert 2003), foundresses of monogynous species cannot rely on histolysis of their body tissue to rear their first offspring. Instead, queens forage during the founding period. ...
... Monogynous Cardiocondyla are characterized by a wing dimorphism in queens Seifert 2003;Schrempf and Heinze 2007). In contrast to the established or assumed associations between queen polymorphism and alternative dispersal tactics in facultatively polygynous ants, both long-winged and short-winged Cardiocondyla queens found solitarily. ...
... mauritanica and Car. minutior (Seifert, 2003), invasive generalised foragers such as Mon. exiguum (Sharaf et al., 2021),0 native generalised scavengers such as Mon. ...
... minutior is a tramp species that nests directly in humid soil of disturbed sites and date palm plantations of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Socotra Archipelago where soil is rich in waste of domestic livestock (Sharaf et al. 2017). Little is known about the biology of this species but the majority of Cardiocondyla species are known to inhabit anthropogenically or naturally disturbed sites (Seifert 2003). The predator ant, Lio. ...
The dramatic increased rates of uncontrolled urbanisation in various parts of the World have resulted in loss of native species and overall threats to biodiversity. Over the last few decades Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkably rapid population growth and unparalleled levels of urbanisation, leading to threats to biodiversity. In this study we focused on arid city (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) where ant assemblages cross an urban-rural gradient. Ants were collected by pitfall traps from 15 sites along three different urbanisation gradients at 3-monthly intervals throughout 1 year. Ant abundance, species richness, evenness, and α diversity were consistent across the urbanisation gradient. However, significant differences were observed in ant β diversity and assemblage composition between rural and urban, suburban and urban, but not between rural and suburban sites. Eleven ant species were identified as indicator species (IV values between 50.7% and 80.7%). These ant assemblages were influenced by flora, ground cover, soil variables, and urbanisation characteristics. To conclude, we found a significant effect of urbanisation on the β diversity and composition of ant assemblages.
... mauritanica and Car. minutior (Seifert, 2003), invasive generalised foragers such as Mon. exiguum (Sharaf et al., 2021),0 native generalised scavengers such as Mon. ...
... minutior is a tramp species that nests directly in humid soil of disturbed sites and date palm plantations of the Arabian Peninsula and in the Socotra Archipelago where soil is rich in waste of domestic livestock (Sharaf et al. 2017). Little is known about the biology of this species but the majority of Cardiocondyla species are known to inhabit anthropogenically or naturally disturbed sites (Seifert 2003). The predator ant, Lio. ...
The dramatic increased rates of uncontrolled urbanization in various parts of the World have resulted in loss of native species and overall threats to biodiversity. Over the last few decades Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkably rapid population growth and unparalleled levels of urbanization, leading to threats to biodiversity. Ants were pitfall-trapped across an urban-rural gradient to evaluate ant assemblage responses to urbanization in Wadi Hanifa, Riyadh, Central Saudi Arabia. Fifteen sampling sites were selected along three different urbanization gradients, each traversing urban, suburban and rural zones. Within each site 10 traps were distributed and operated for 7 consecutive days, at 3-monthly intervals throughout one year. Vegetation, ground cover, and chemical and physical soil variables at sampling sites were analyzed concurrently. Ant abundance, species richness, evenness, and diversity indices of Shannon and Simpson were calculated for each site using PC-ORD to demonstrate diversity patterns along the urbanization gradients. Ant assemblages were assessed by detrended corresponding analysis (DCA), canonical correspondence analysis (CCA), and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) using PC-ORD. Indicator species analysis was conducted to define representative species along the urbanization gradient. A total of 42 ant species were identified. The diversity parameters were consistent across the urbanization gradient. However, significant differences were observed in the ant assemblages between rural and urban, suburban and urban, but only marginal between rural and suburban. Eleven ant species were identified as indicator species (IV values between 50.7-80.7%). The ant assemblages were influenced by flora, ground cover, and soil variables.
... Over the past 170 years, the exploration of the ant fauna of Sri Lanka has received sporadic attention and has, since its origin and for long, been dominated by European and later American scientists. Studies of Sri Lankan ants, or including specimens from the country, include in approximate chronological order, were conducted by F. Smith (1853Smith ( , 1858, Roger (1860-63), Mayr (1862Mayr ( , 1865Mayr ( , 1866Mayr ( , 1868Mayr ( , 1879Mayr ( , 1897, Motschoulsky (1863), Emery (1887aEmery ( , d, 1893aEmery ( , b, c, d, 1895aEmery ( , 1896Emery ( , 1897bEmery ( , 1901Emery ( , 1911Emery ( , 1912Emery ( , 1922Emery ( , 1925, Forel (1892aForel ( , b, c, 1893aForel ( , b, 1894Forel ( , 1895aForel ( , b, 1900aForel ( , b, 1901aForel ( , 1902aForel ( , b, c, 1903aForel ( , b, c, 1904aForel ( , 1907aForel ( , b, 1908Forel ( , 1909Forel ( , 1911aForel ( , b, c, e, 1912aForel ( , c, d, 1913a, Wheeler (1919bWheeler ( , 1942, Karavaiev (1925aKaravaiev ( , b, c, 1926Karavaiev ( , 1929Karavaiev ( , 1933Karavaiev ( , 1935, Santschi (1928), Donisthorpe (1931Donisthorpe ( , 1941Donisthorpe ( , 1942a, Menozzi (1935), Chapman and Capco (1951), Brown (1954Brown ( , 1958Brown ( -59, 1975Brown ( , 1978, Wilson et al. (1956), Gregg (1957), Wilson (1958aWilson ( , b, 1964, Walker (1859-60), Bolton (1974aBolton ( , b, 1975Bolton ( -77, 1980Bolton ( , 1982Bolton ( , 1987Bolton ( , 1992Bolton ( , 1995Bolton ( , 2000Bolton ( , 2007, Baroni Urbani (1975Urbani ( , 1977a, Moffett (1985-86), Baroni Urbani and De Andrade (1994Andrade ( , 2006, Rigato (1994), Dorow and Kohout (1995), Way and Bolton (1997), Rickson and Rickson (1998), Schödl (1998), Ward (2001, Seifert (2003), Alpert (2013), Lattke and Delsinne (2016), Seifert et al. (2017) and others. Bingham (1903) was the first author to summarize the ants of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) recording 135 species in 52 genera under five subfamilies within his checklist of ants also including India and Burma. ...
... Emery (1901 Gunawardene et al. 2008: 80 (Sinharaja Forest Reserve), Gunawardene et al. 2012: 84 (Sinharaja Forest Reserve) Distribution in Sri Lanka seems far remote from the known distribution of this species in Asia Myrmicinae Carebara affinis spinosior (Forel, 1911) Forel 1913b Probably a misidentification. Needs further confirmation in Sri Lanka Cardiocondyla nuda Mayr, 1866Kugler 1984 Terayama, 1999(Seifert, 2003 Crematogaster politula Forel, 1902, Dias and Rajapaksa 2016: 35 (Puttalam) No specimen base to confirm distribution in Sri Lanka ...
An updated checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Sri Lanka is presented. These include representatives of eleven of the 17 known extant subfamilies with 341 valid ant species in 79 genera. Lio-ponera longitarsus Mayr, 1879 is reported as a new species country record for Sri Lanka. Notes about type localities, depositories, and relevant references to each species record are given. Accounts of the dubious and some undetermined species from Sri Lanka are also provided. 82 species (24%) are endemic whereas 18 species that are non-native to Sri Lanka are recorded. The list provides a synthesis of the regional taxo-nomical work carried out to date and will serve as a baseline for future studies on the ant fauna of this biodiversity hotspot.
... The first records of ant species from Nepal were published 117 years ago, in 1906 (Forel 1906), and thus marked the beginning of Nepalese Myrmecology. Following then, several ant species descriptions and records from Nepal, have been published, especially by foreign myrmecologists (For example Collingwood 1970, Baroni Urbani 1975, Radchenko 2003, Seifert 2003, Williams & Lapolla 2018. Furthering the knowledge, local researchers have recently made substantial contributions to Nepalese myrmecology. ...
Nepal, a part of the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, has a high diversity of habitat and species. Its myrmecofaunal diversity and distribution, however, is little understood. Here, I summarize the provincial distribution of all named species of ants for the seven provinces of Nepal through a literature review and examination of materials available at museum and private collections. The distribution of Nepalese ants in each province reveals that Bagmati province has the highest known generic and species richness with 37 genera and 93 species, followed by Gandaki (32, 68), Province 1 (27, 55), Sudurpashchim (15, 15), Lumbini (12, 13), Madhesh (9, 11), and Karnali (5, 5). The four of the seven provinces, Sudurpashchim, Karnali, Lumbini, and Madhesh have been significantly under sampled in the country in terms of documented species richness. Although the figures cannot accurately represent the real species richness of each province, I hope that by highlighting the research gaps, it will encourage further investigation.
... clines has also been shown for species of the Formica cinerea group (Seifert 2003a). Furthermore, extreme intraspecific color polymorphism is reported in several species of Cardiocondyla (Seifert 2003b;Seifert et al. 2017) and in Camponotus (Seifert 2019) that reportedly leads to taxonomic errors. ...
In this paper, we provide numeric morphology-based evidence that the dark-colored Ponera coarctata var. lucida Emery, 1898, formerly considered a synonym of P. coarctata (Latreille, 1802), is conspecific with the lighter-colored Ponera testacea Emery, 1895. Species hypotheses are developed via NC-PART clustering , combined with Partitioning Algorithm based on Recursive Thresholding (PART), and via PCA combined with gap statistics. We obtained our results from an extensive dataset from the 10 continuous morphometric traits measured on 165 workers belonging to 73 nest samples. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) confirmed the grouping of hypotheses generated by exploratory analyses with 100% classification success when all ten morphometric traits were involved. The Anatolian Turkish black and the predominantly European yellow samples, did not separate based on their morphometric characteristics. These two color variations broadly overlap in their geographic range in Anatolian Turkey. The investigated type series of Ponera coarctata var. lucida Emery, 1898 (collected from Kazakhstan) fell within the P. testacea cluster instead of P. coarctata and is also classified with high certainty as P. testacea by confirmatory LDA. Therefore , we propose the synonymy of Ponera coarctata var. lucida Emery, 1898 with Ponera testacea Emery, 1895. As no other morphological differences than color patterns were detected between the "black" and "pale" P. testacea samples, we hold that these populations constitute geographically occurring color variations of the same species. Finally, our quantitative morphology-based results show that relying on color patterns is not a robust approach in identifying European Ponera samples, particularly in the east, but using multivariate analyses of morphometric traits is advised instead. A peer-reviewed open-access journal Sándor Csősz et al. / ZooKeys 1084: 151-164 (2022) 152
... Determinations were made using stereomicroscope (BTC STM-1 x20). The identification of the species was based on currently available keys: Wilson (1955), Collingwood (1979), Agosti & Collingwood (1987), Collingwood & Prince (1998), Seifert (2003), Seifert & Schultz (2009). Also, the on-line key (https://www.antweb.org). ...
In July 2021, the myrmecofauna of Pomorie City (Bulgaria) was studied. From the Formicidae family 15 species were recorded: Cardiocondyla bulgarica, C. elegans, Crematogaster schmidti, Formica cunicularia, F. sanguinea, Lasius niger, Messor barbarus, M. capitatus, M. structor, Plagiolepis pygmaea, Tapinoma erraticum, Temnothorax sp., Tetramorium caespitum, T. chefketi and T. ferox.
... The value of amateur collections: The Raul Jordan Collection is not only important for the number of native ant species it contains, but also because it represents the first records in this country of two other unquestionably exotic species; namely Cardiocondyla minutior Forel, 1899 and Solenopsis papuana Emery, 1900. Cardiocondyla minutior was identified using the taxonomic keys to species-group and then to species in Seifert (2003). (Note: Seifert's species level key bases the differentiation between C. minutior and its sister species C. tjibodana Karavaiev, 1935 on minute morphometric differences and colour-tone, which, in practical terms, is rather unsatisfactory. ...
A collection of ants deeded to the Western Australian Museum by visiting amateur Raul Jordan included representatives of 10 subfamilies, 65 genera and 270 species. The ants were collected in 2002 in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Among the specimens were three workers of Overbeckia collected in Mossman, Queensland. This is an extremely rare arboreal genus known previously from only two collections in Singapore and the Philippines. The sole known species is Overbeckia subclavata Viehmeyer, 1916. The Australian material is hairier but otherwise agrees exactly with syntype workers illustrated on AntWeb. The implications of this find are discussed. The alternatives include (i) a new species of Overbeckia possibly endemic to Australia, (ii) the extension of the known range of Over-beckia subclavata and (iii) the introduction to Australia of a hairy morph of O. subclavata by human agency. At present, insufficient material is available to enable this author to choose between these alternatives. The Jordan Collection also includes the first Australian records of Solenopsis papuana Emery, 1900 and Cardiocondyla minutior Forel, 1899. These three new records are of considerable significance, and the value of amateur collections and the importance of good taxonomy are discussed in this paper.
... C. emeryi and C. obscurior are distributed around the world. C. emeryi is an invasive species hypothesized to have been introduced to America with plant material transported from Africa 400 years ago (Seifert 2003). C. obscurior is native to Africa and Asia, but now dispersed all over the world. ...
The occurrence of species is inadequately known for Morelos, one of the smallest states at the center of Mexico. Our research documented the occurrence of ant species in the State. Specimens were collected in four conserved areas and a range of disturbed habitats. Morphological traits and molecular sequences of the Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) were used as complementary tools to identify species. We identified 164 ant species of which 48 were new records for the State. Molecular analysis helped confirm and document the identity of species in groups of ants. The study could be used as a model to assess ecosystem health across extensive geographical regions.
... We used the key of determination need to genera level of Shattuck (Shattuck, 1999) for Australia and various taxonomic revision articles (Bolton, 1977;Shattuck, 1993;Seifert, 2002;Lapolla et al., 2010;LaPolla, 2013). All the worker ants sampled were determined to the genus, species or group of morpho-species. ...
La biosphère traverse une crise de biodiversité pour laquelle les milieux insulaires sont l’épicentre. Les invasions biologiques y constituent l’un des principaux facteurs de forçage, notamment du point de vue de l’altération des mutualismes, pour le fonctionnement et le maintien des écosystèmes. Durant notre travail en Nouvelle-Calédonie, nous nous sommes intéressés à un groupe clé de voute pour le fonctionnement des écosystèmes, les fourmis, et leur implication vis-à-vis de la dispersion de graines (myrmécochorie). Nous avons réalisé la première identification de plantes autochtones myrmécochores, avec une prépondérance des espèces sur substrats ultramafiques. Puis, nous avons testé la dispersion par les fourmis sur ces substrats. Après avoir caractérisé les communautés selon un gradient de perturbation anthropique, nous avons évalué la dispersion et la contribution des fourmis invasives à ce service par rapport aux fourmis natives. Ainsi, Solenopsis geminata semble capable d'une meilleure dispersion que les espèces natives. A contrario, Wasmannia auropunctata exclue les espèces natives sans assurer de dispersion efficace. Dans le contexte d’un régime de perturbations intense, nos travaux illustrent une communauté néo-assemblée de fourmis, dominée par des exotiques dont certaines pourraient assurer un relai de fonction pour la dynamique des maquis. Nos travaux illustrent la « contexte dépendance » des impacts d’espèces invasives en fonction du niveau de perturbation anthropique. Ils permettent de discuter la contribution possible de ces fourmis pour la restauration après perturbation sur substrats ultramafiques, voire de leur valorisation en ingénierie écologique.
... We used ants, a group in which the application of morphometric data has a long tradition (e.g., Brown, 1943;Brian & Brian, 1949), as a model organism. Morphometry has been employed widely in recent myrmecological studies (e.g., Ward, 1999;Baroni Urbani, 1998;Seifert, 1992Seifert, , 2003Seifert, , 2019Csősz Heinze & Mikó, 2015;Wagner et al., 2017) as the primary method of interpreting anatomical forms and their variation. Eleven participants of diverse levels of skill and expertise, working with different taxonomic routines over three continents and six countries, were asked to perform repeated measurements on the same set of ant specimens, according to the same measurement protocol, with their own equipment. ...
Ants are one of the most ubiquitous, widespread and abundant groups of animals on Earth. They are eusocial and are well noted for their important ecosystem services such as nutrient recycling, seed dispersal, engaging in mutualistic associations with other organisms, as well as serving as predators and scavengers. Although Africa has been recognised as a global hotspot for ant diversity, African ant genera are not as well-known when compared with other regions. The last checklist of Nigerian ants was compiled and published in the 1970s. To contribute to new knowledge on West African ant genera and Nigeria in particular, we conducted a review of the ant species of Nigeria using 132 scientific publications mostly compiled in the database www.antmaps.org, along with a survey of ant species of Lagos and Oyo States in Nigeria which was conducted between 2018 and 2020. The study aimed to ascertain the diversity of Nigerian ant genera, as well as to confirm the presence of previously recorded species and add new species to the current checklist of Nigerian ants, based on the 1970 survey.
As many as 106 species were recorded from the survey in the current study, of which 28 are new to Nigeria and additional 28 are identified to the morphospecies level. In total, 317 species from 10 subfamilies and 64 genera are now recorded from Nigeria, including 11 invasive ants, of which six are new to Nigeria. The following eleven species that were included in the 1970 checklist were excluded from the current list, mostly due to previous misidentifications: Aenictus rotundatus Mayr, 1901; Anochetus jonesi Arnold, 1926; Camponotus barbarossa micipsa Wheeler, 1992; Camponotus foraminosus dorsalis Santschi, 1926; Camponotus rufoglaucus (Jerdon, 1851); Cardiocondyla zoserka Bolton, 1982; Messor barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767); Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1758); Technomyrmex albipes (Smith, 1861); Tetramorium decem Forel, 1913 and Tetraponera penzigi (Mayr, 1907).
Invasive species represent a severe threat for ecosystem health worldwide. With
increasing global trade and ongoing climate change, monitoring non-native species and their hotspots of potential spread is becoming increasingly important. Invasive ants are one of the most problematic groups of organisms costing billions of dollars a year globally to control. Therefore, emerging ant invasions require more focused engagement to assess their extent, and effective measures to prevent the spread of non-native invasive species can be time consuming and expensive to implement. In addition to places with high commercial traffic, greenhouses are potential hotspots for non-native species as they can be entry points for invasions. However,
the role of greenhouses in ant invasions is still understudied. In this study, an extensive survey of greenhouses in zoos and botanical gardens of Hungary was conducted to search for non-native ant species. The five species found in the surveys and an additional two known from Hungary were then screened for their risk of invasiveness in the country under both current and predicted climate conditions. Three species were found to pose a considerable conservation and economic risk for Hungary, and one is already present in the wild. Increased monitoring of greenhouses and other heated premises for the presence of non-native species and targeted chemical eradication are needed to prevent their spread. The risk screening method employed in this study can be applied to a wide range of terrestrial animal taxa, thereby providing a basis for developing more effective prevention and control strategies against invasive species.
Social insect queens and workers can engage in conflict over reproductive allocation when they have different fitness optima. Here, we show that queens have control over queen-worker caste allocation in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior , a species in which workers lack reproductive organs. We describe crystalline deposits that distinguish castes from the egg stage onwards, providing the first report of a discrete trait that can be used to identify ant caste throughout pre-imaginal development. The comparison of queen and worker-destined eggs and larvae revealed size and weight differences in late development, but no discernible differences in traits that may be used in social interactions, including hair morphology and cuticular odours. In line with a lack of caste-specific traits, adult workers treated developing queens and workers indiscriminately. Together with previous studies demonstrating queen control over sex allocation, these results show that queens control reproductive allocation in C. obscurior and suggest that the fitness interests of colony members are aligned to optimize resource allocation in this ant.
Turizm, gelişmiş ulaşım ve artan ticaret gibi insan faaliyetleri faunal elemanların dağılım alanları dışındaki habitatlara taşınmasına neden olmakta ve dolayısıyla yerli faunayı etkilemektedir. Bu faaliyetlerle taşınan organizmalar yerli olmayan, egzotik, istilacı veya tramp türler olarak adlandırılır. İstilacı türler, ekosistemi değiştirecek etkiye sahiptirler. Bu çalışmada İstilacı oldukları tespit edilen ve Türkiye`ye ait kayıt bildirilen Hymenopterlerden Sceliphron curvatum (Smith 1870), Tetramorium lanuginosum (Mayr 1870), Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille 1802), Anoplolepis gracilipes (F. Smith 1857), Linepithema humile (Mayr 1868), Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr 1904), Nylanderia vividula (Nylander 1904), Cardiocondyla mauritanica (Forel 1890), Cardiocondyla emeryi (Forel, 1881), Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus 1758), Monomorium subopacum (F. Smith 1858), Pheidole indica (Mayr 1879), Pheidole teneriffana (Forel 1893), Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius 1793), Strumigenys membranifera (Emery 1869), Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander 1846), Hypoponera eduardi (Forel 1894), Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger 1859), Vespula vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758), Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius 1804), Lasius neglectus (Van Loon, Boomsma & Andrasfalvy, 1990), Camponotus variegatus (Smith, F., 1858), Camponotus compressus (Fabricius, 1787), Camponotus maculatus (Fabricius 1782), Vespula germanica (Fabricius, 1793), Dryocosmus kuriphilus (Yasumatsu 1951), türlerine ait yapılan bu derlemede, bu türlerin doğal yaşam alanlarına, dağılım bölgelerine, ekolojik etkilerine, Türkiye`deki kayıtlarına değinilmiştir.
The Bulgarian myrmecofauna is one of the richest in the Balkans. This is a result of both the physicogeographical and paleoecological features of the area, as well as relatively well-studied fauna. The earliest myrmecological paper on Bulgarian fauna, listing 54 species, was published 130 years ago. The publication was later followed by numerous new faunistic records and three comprehensive reviews that significantly widened knowledge on the ant diversity from this country. The most recent checklist was released 12 years ago and considered 163 ant species from 40 genera.
This work provides an updated checklist of 195 ant species from 43 genera occurring in Bulgaria. Since the last Bulgarian catalogue of ants, 44 species have been added, while 24 species have been synonymised or excluded after critical analysis of the last taxonomic revisions. Additionally, we discuss the status and distribution of 12 species described from Bulgaria, 23 species considered endemic and subendemic for this country, 19 species with conservation status and four non-native species.
The evolutionary mechanisms that shape aging in social insects are not well understood. It is commonly assumed that queens live long and prosperous, while workers are regarded as a short-lived disposable caste because of their low reproductive potential. Queens of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior gain high fitness late in life by increasing investment into sexual offspring as they age. This results in strong selection against senescence until shortly before death. Here, we show that workers have the same lifespan and shape of aging as queens, even though workers lack reproductive organs and cannot gain direct fitness. Under consideration of the prevailing aging theories and the biology of the species, we hypothesize that programmed aging has possibly evolved under kin selection.
Impact statement
Morphologically distinct fertile queen and sterile worker castes in the model ant Cardiocondyla obscurior show the same pace and shape of aging, contradicting the paradigm of queen/worker lifespan divergence in social insects.
Three new exotic species of ants are recorded for the Macaronesian island of Madeira: Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929, Lepisiota capensis (Mayr, 1862) and Pheidole navigans Forel, 1901. The well-known invasive Pheidole megacephala is now rare on Madeira, possibly because of competition with P. navigans. We did not come across the Argentine ant – Linepithema humile, which was once very common in the Funchal area. Despite extensive searching, the presumed endemic Temnothorax wollastoni (Donisthorpe, 1940) remains unknown other than from the type material. Presence, abundance and extinction of invasive and exotic ants are dynamic processes and we stress the importance of continuous sampling.
the book is one of a 2 volume guide to the Ants of Western Australia - this part contains taxonomic keys
The Iberian Peninsula holds one of the richest myrmecofauna of the
Mediterranean basin, but some regions such as Portugal remain comparatively
undersampled. Although new unrecorded species have been regularly found
and published during the last two decades, the sum is still far from approaching
the more than 300 species known to occur in the Iberian Peninsula. In this
context, the arboreal ant Temnothorax convexus (Forel, 1894) is reported
here for the first time in Portugal. A complete society was found nesting
inside an abandoned gall of Andricus quercustozae (Bosc, 1792) near Lisbon.
A full morphometric evaluation of the specimens is provided, including a small
sample from the recently discovered population in South Iberia. High-definition
photographs of the worker caste are presented, together with a comparison
with the most similar species in Iberia. Finally, a critical update of the Portuguese
ant checklist is provided, discussing the most recent nomenclatural changes and
taxonomic issues, rising the final species number to 132.
Species commonly exhibit alternative morphs, with individual fate being determined during development by either genetic factors, environmental cues or a combination thereof. Ants offer an interesting case study because many species are polymorphic in their social structure. Some colonies contain one queen while others contain many queens. This variation in queen number is generally associated with a suite of phenotypic and life-history traits, including mode of colony founding, queen lifespan, queen–worker dimorphism and colony size. The basis of this social polymorphism has been studied in five ant lineages, and remarkably social morph seems to be determined by a supergene in all cases. These ‘social supergenes’ tend to be large, having formed through serial inversions, and to comprise hundreds of linked genes. They have persisted over long evolutionary timescales, in multiple lineages following speciation events, and have spread between closely related species via introgression. Their evolutionary dynamics are unusually complex, combining recessive lethality, spatially variable selection, selfish genetic elements and non-random mating. Here, we synthesize the five cases of supergene-based social polymorphism in ants, highlighting interesting commonalities, idiosyncrasies and implications for the evolution of polymorphisms in general.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Genomic architecture of supergenes: causes and evolutionary consequences’.
Ants are important because they damage agricultural equipment, including microirrigation systems. The aim of this research was to assess the efficiency of the incorporation of repellents in drip irrigation tubing as a method of protection against ant damage. Unlike previous studies, we tested a series of nontoxic compounds that are repellent to ants. First, we assessed their repellent effects on a local ant species via olfactometer trials. Then, the candidates showing the best results (cinnamon essential oil, p-anisaldehyde and ethyl anthranilate) were incorporated via compounding, injection and extrusion to polyethylene tubing to test their efficiency in the field. Field tests showed high damage levels in the control tubing containing no repellents, presumably caused by up to six different ant species (Cardiocondyla batesii, Plagiolepis pygmaea, P. schmitzii, Solenopsis sp., Tapinoma nigerrimum and Tetramorium semilaeve). In contrast, the pipes containing the three selected compounds remained almost intact, with the treatment including ethyl anthranilate showing no damage at all. These results suggest the strong repellent potential of the selected compounds, even when integrated into plastic, as well as the apparent success of the proposed methodology against the damage caused by ants. The diversity of damage-causing agents that exist in or above the soil strongly encourages further studies to determine the overall efficiency of repellents in protecting irrigation pipes.
The data we present consist of an inventory of exotic arthropods, potentially invasive, collected in exotic and mixed forests and disturbed native forest patches of the Azores Archipelago. The study was carried out between 2019 and 2020 in four islands: Corvo, Flores, Terceira and Santa Maria, where a total of 45 passive flight interception SLAM traps were deployed, during three to six consecutive months. This manuscript is the second contribution of the “SLAM Project - Long Term Ecological Study of the Impacts of Climate Change in the Natural Forest of Azores”.
We provide an inventory of terrestrial arthropods belonging to Arachnida, Diplopoda, Chilopoda and Insecta classes from four Azorean islands. We identified a total of 21,175 specimens, belonging to 20 orders, 93 families and 249 species of arthropods. A total of 125 species are considered introduced, 89 native non-endemic and 35 endemic. We registered 34 new records (nine for Corvo, three for Flores, six for Terceira and 16 for Santa Maria), of which five are new for Azores, being all exotic possibly recently introduced: Dieckmanniellus nitidulus (Gyllenhal, 1838), Gronops fasciatus Küster, 1851, Hadroplontus trimaculatus (Fabricius, 1775), Hypurus bertrandi (Perris, 1852) (all Coleoptera, Curculionidae) and Cardiocondyla mauritanica Forel, 1890 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). This publication highlights the importance of planted forests and disturbed native forest patches as reservoirs of potentially invasive arthropods and refuges for some rare relict endemic arthropod species.
The information available on the diversity of ant species and their distribution and interaction with forest health in Nepal remains limited. As part of a nationwide project on forest health, we conducted inventories to assess the diversity and distribution of forest ants and their role in forest management in Nepal. Ants were collected from 187 plots of 10 m × 10 m size along the north–south belt transects in eastern, central, and western Nepal. We used vegetation beating, sweeping, and hand collection methods in selected forest types. In each transect, we designed six plots in each major forest type (Sal, Schima–Castanopsis, and broadleaf mixed forests) and three plots each in deodar, Alnus, riverine, and Cryptomeria forests. We recorded 70 ant species from 36 genera and six subfamilies. This includes five genera and nine species new for the country, as well as eight tramp species, four of which are major ecological, agricultural, and/or household pests. Our study indicates that forest ant species richness is high in western Nepal and the Siwaliks, and it decreases as elevation increases. The high diversity of ant species in the forests of Nepal needs to be assessed with further exploration using multiple sampling methods covering all seasons and forest types. Ants can be useful indicators for ecosystem management and human impacts on forests. Reports of invasive ants in Nepalese forests indicate the relevance of urgent interventions through sustainable forest management initiatives to prevent future incursions.
This, the first of two volumes on Western Australian ants, provides keys to subfamily, genus an species for 832 ant taxa found in Western Australia, including many as yet undescribed. Photographic illustrations plus a few drawings, taxonomic notes and synonymies are also provided, along wiht a checklist.
The Cabo Verde Islands, a tropical Atlantic archipelago west of Senegal, West Africa, is the southernmost part of Macaronesia, a biogeographic subregion that also includes the archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands. We surveyed ants at 238 sites on the nine inhabited islands of Cabo Verde, collecting a total of 33 ant species, including 11 previously unreported species. Published, previously unpublished, and new records of ants from Cabo Verde now total 39 species. Only three species, Camponotus occasus, Cardiocondyla n. sp., and Monomorium boltoni, are known Cabo Verde endemics, though three unidentified species may also be endemics. An additional 24 species are apparently native to the Afrotropical and/or Palearctic biogeographic realms. Most are likely to be native to Cabo Verde, including Brachyponera sennaarensis, a widespread and conspicuous ant in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, well known for its painful sting. Nine of the Afrotropical/Palearctic species are well known tramp ants, widely spread around the world through human commerce: Cardiocondyla emeryi, Hypoponera punctatissima, Hypoponera ragusai, Pheidole megacephala, Strumigenys membranifera, Technomyrmex pallipes, Tetramorium caldarium, Tetramorium simillimum, and Trichomyrmex destructor. It is unclear which of these species are native to Cabo Verde and which are exotic. Seven ant species thought to originate in the Indomalay and/or Australasian realms are almost certainly exotic to Cabo Verde: Cardiocondyla obscurior, Monomorium floricola, Paratrechina longicornis, Strumigenys emmae, Syllophopsis sechellensis, Tapinoma melanocephalum, and Tetramorium bicarinatum. Finally, two species, Brachymyrmex cordemoyi and Solenopsis globularia, are the only ants found in Cabo Verde known to be exotic New World species. Records of six previously reported species, Cardiocondyla nigra, Carebara vorax, Lepisiota capensis, Pheidole punctulata, Solenopsis innota, and Technomyrmex albipes, appear to be misidentifications of Cardiocondyla n. sp., Solenopsis orbula, Lepisiota canescens, Pheidole megacephala, Solenopsis globularia, and Technomyrmex pallipes, respectively. Tramp ants, which are extremely common in Cabo Verde, have probably had a great impact on the endemic and native ants. In fact, M. boltoni may now be extinct, exterminated by P. megacephala, a highly destructive invasive ant species, which was the most commonly collected ant in Cabo Verde. Numerous Cabo Verde residents reported being attacked by another invasive tramp ant, Trichomyrmex destructor. Given the number of species we found two or fewer times (14 of 39 species), we expect that multiple ant species probably remain undetected.
Mating in ants often occurs on the wing during nuptial flights or on the ground when scattered female sexuals attract males by pheromones. In both scenarios, there is little opportunity for males to engage in prolonged aggressive competition or elaborate courtship displays. Male morphology is therefore adapted to locating female sexuals and mating, and it lacks specific weapons or other traits associated with courtship. In contrast, sexuals of the ant genus Cardiocondyla typically mate in their natal nests. As a consequence, in many species winged males have been replaced by wingless fighter or territorial males, which kill or expel rival males with their strong mandibles and show complex mating behavior. However, no wingless males are known from Cardiocondyla zoserka from West Africa, and instead, winged males have evolved a bizarre secondary sexual trait: uniquely shaped antennae with spoon‐like tips that show heavily sculptured ventral surfaces with numerous invaginations. We here report on the courtship behavior of C. zoserka males and describe antennal glands with class 3 gland cells, which presumably secrete a close range sex pheromone. Antennal glands have not yet been found in males of other ant species, including a close relative of C. zoserka, suggesting that in ants with intranidal mating sexual selection can rapidly lead to highly divergent adaptations and the evolution of novel structures. Winged males of the ant Cardiocondyla zoserka have evolved a bizarre secondary sexual trait: uniquely shaped antennae with a spoon‐like tips that show heavily sculptured ventral surfaces with numerous invaginations. We here report on the courtship behavior of C. zoserka males and describe antennal glands with class 3 gland cells, which presumably secrete a close range sex pheromone.
Choosing the right mating partner is one of the most critical decisions in the life of a sexually reproducing organism and is the basis of sexual selection. This choice is usually assumed to be made by one or both of the sexual partners. Here, we describe a system in which a third party – the siblings – promote outbreeding by their sisters: workers of the tiny ant Cardiocondyla elegans carry female sexuals from their natal nest over several meters and drop them in the nest of another, unrelated colony to promote outbreeding with wingless, stationary males. Workers appear to choose particular recipient colonies into which they transfer numerous female sexuals. Assisted outbreeding and indirect female choice in the ant C. elegans are comparable to human matchmaking and suggest a hitherto unknown aspect of natural history – third party sexual selection. Our study highlights that research at the intersection between social evolution and reproductive biology might reveal surprising facets of animal behavior. Vidal et al. identify a breeding system in the ant Cardiocondyla elegans that avoids colonial inbreeding, managed by a third party of worker ants. This system bears similarities to human matchmaking, but with fundamental genetic drivers rather than social ones.
The increase in international trade and the changes in the natural environment of many countries caused a rapid increase in the introduced non‐native species. These invasive and alien species (IAS) many times pose special difficulties in the conservation of native biological diversity. Especially in Greece, where the number of endemic species is high, these IAS are causing the extinction of native species through predation, competition, carriers of pathogens, and hybridization. In addition, partly as a result of this, they alter the processes supporting local ecosystems. This chapter illustrates in an authoritative way all the IAS in the major taxonomic groups. In addition, cites the necessary bibliographic sources from where a researcher can find the associated information to start studying or intercepting IAS from being introduced in a particular area.
Wolbachia is one of the most common intracellular symbionts among insects, but the function of this infection and its effects on the host still remain largely unknown for many taxa. In the case of many social insects, living in colonies results in close interactions, facilitating the dispersion of the symbiont. However, having only one caste responsible for reproduction (queens) could restrict infections. Several groups of social insects have been reported to be highly infected with these symbionts. However, Wolbachia associations across social and closely related non-social insects in a comparative framework has not been examined to date, which may help us understand the role social behavior, geography, and ecology plays in structuring this association. Since 2006 the Multi-Locus Sequencing Type (MLST) approach has been shown to be appropriate for diversity studies, which consists of sequencing five genes spread across the Wolbachia genome. Over the past 15 yr, studies using this approach have been conducted worldwide and have generated large volumes of data. In this review article, we intend to produce a meta-analysis by combining MLST data from across social insects (ants, bees, termites, wasps) and beyond, together with their closest relatives to better elucidate the patterns behind the diversity of this symbiotic interaction. Our main findings reveal that the diversity of Wolbachia (supergroups) is correlated with the host insect taxonomy, biogeography, and social/solitary behavior. In addition, solitary insects such as bees and wasps can interact with a greater diversity of Wolbachia supergroup compared to their social representatives.
The ant fauna of the State of Qatar is reviewed based on collected material and literature. In total, 23 species, belonging to 12 genera and four subfamilies, were reported from the country. Given that Messor arenarius diabolus Santschi, 1938 is endemic in Egypt, and it was recorded by mistake in Qatar, we excluded it from the country faunal list. Six genera are recorded for the first time from the country, Cardiocondyla Emery, 1896,
• Morphometric research is being applied to a growing number and variety of organisms. Discoveries achieved via morphometric approaches are often considered highly transferable, in contrast to the tacit and idiosyncratic interpretation of discrete character states. The reliability of morphometric workflows in insect systematics has never been a subject of focused research, but such studies are sorely needed. In this paper, we assess the reproducibility of morphometric studies of ants where the mode of data collection is a shared routine.
• We compared datasets generated by eleven independent gaugers, that is, collaborators, who measured 21 continuous morphometric traits on the same pool of individuals according to the same protocol. The gaugers possessed a wide range of morphometric skills, had varying expertise among insect groups, and differed in their facility with measuring equipment. We used intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) to calculate repeatability and reproducibility values (i.e., intra‐ and intergauger agreements), and we performed a multivariate permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) using the Morosita index of dissimilarity with 9,999 iterations.
• The calculated average measure of intraclass correlation coefficients of different gaugers ranged from R = 0.784 to R = 0.9897 and a significant correlation was found between the repeatability and the morphometric skills of gaugers (p = 0.016). There was no significant association with the magnification of the equipment in the case of these rather small ants. The intergauger agreement, that is the reproducibility, varied between R = 0.872 and R = 0.471 (mean R = 0.690), but all gaugers arrived at the same two‐species conclusion. A PERMANOVA test revealed no significant gauger effect on species identity (R² = 0.69, p = 0.58).
• Our findings show that morphometric studies are reproducible when observers follow the standard protocol; hence, morphometric findings are widely transferable and will remain a valuable data source for alpha taxonomy.
China’s Hengduan Mountain region has been considered one of the most diverse regions in the northern hemisphere. Its stunning topography with many deep valleys and impassable mountain barriers has promoted an astonishing diversification in many groups of organisms including plants, birds, mammals, and amphibians. However, the insect biodiversity in this region is still poorly known. Here, the first checklist of ant species from the Southern Hengduan Mountain region is presented, generated by sampling ant diversity using a wide array of collection methods, including Winkler leaf litter extraction, vegetation beating, and hand collection. 130 species/morphospecies from nine subfamilies and 49 genera were identified. Among them, 17 species from 13 genera represent new records for Yunnan province, and eight species are newly recorded for China. Moreover, we believe 41 novel morphospecies (31% of the total collected taxa) will prove to be new to science. These results highlight the rich ant fauna of this region and strongly support its status as a biodiversity hotspot. The current ant species checklist for the whole of Yunnan Province was updated by recording 550 named species from 99 genera. Taken together, our results suggest that the Yunnan ant fauna still remains under-sampled, and future sampling will likely yield many more species, among them many undescribed ones.
Corresponding author: Jean-Yves Rasplus (rasplus@supagro.inra.fr)
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.