Soil ants and bromeliad-nesting ants in an Atlantic Forest area, Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil: Species inventory and new records

• Main Authors: Josefina Steiner, Benedito Cortês Lopes, Mônica Antunes Ulysséa, Félix Baumgarten Rosumek, Anne Zillikens
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2008-12-01
• Series: Biotemas
• Subjects: Formicidae; Atlantic forest; soil ants; plant ants; bromeliads
• Online Access: http://www.biotemas.ufsc.br/volumes/pdf/volume214/p81a89.pdf

The myrmecofauna in an Atlantic Forest area was studied using various methods for soil ants and bromeliad-nesting ants. Monthly collections were performed between March 2002 and August 2004, using a Winkler extractor, pitfall traps and bromeliad individuals. One hundred and twenty-four species from nine subfamilies and 33 genera were found. The richest genera were Pheidole, Solenopsis, Crematogaster, Acromyrmex and Camponotus. More species were found in soil than in bromeliads, with 8% occurring in both habitats. Twelve species are new records for Santa Catarina State and 19 are new for the greater Florianópolis region. These results correlate with the use of new methodologies for the region, showing that the ant fauna of Santa Catarina Island still needs to be better studied.