Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of urban and rural indoor and outdoor spaces of human-made buildings in Sarakhs County: new records and range extensions

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) have a tremendous impact on food chains and natural ecosystems, and a significant number of species are in contact with humans due to their presence in anthropogenic structures. During a survey, ants from urban and rural indoor and outdoor spaces of human-made structures in Sarakhs County, Khorasan Razavi Province, located in the northeast of Iran, were collected and identified. In total, ۳ subfamilies, ۱۲ genera, and ۲۰ species were collected and identified. Among the identified ants, six species, including Tapinoma erraticum (Latreille, ۱۷۹۸), Lepisiota bipartita (Smith, ۱۸۶۱), Messor denticulatus Santschi, ۱۹۲۷, M. reticuliventris Karavaiev, ۱۹۱۱, Pheidole providens (Sykes, ۱۸۳۵), and Trichomyrmex destructor (Jerdon, ۱۸۵۱), were directly collected from different parts of residential houses such as kitchens, bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms. The fourteen species, T. erraticum, Camponotus cognatocompressus Forel, ۱۹۰۴, C. xerxes Forel, ۱۹۰۴, Cataglyphis setipes (Forel, ۱۸۹۴), Formica clara Forel, ۱۸۸۶, Aphaenogaster muschtaidica Emery, ۱۹۰۸, M. denticulatus, M. intermedius Santschi, ۱۹۲۷, M. reticuliventris, Myrmica specioides Bondroit, ۱۹۱۸, P. cicatricosa Stitz, ۱۹۱۷, P. providens, Tetramorium nursei Bingham, ۱۹۰۳, and T. destructor, were collected from the outdoor spaces of residential houses and internal spaces of non-residential human-made buildings such as courtyards, parking lots, warehouses, stairs, gardens, walls, terraces, etc. M. reticuliventris is reported for the first time from Iran. In addition, the species A. muschtaidica, which is considered a Caucasian species, is reported far from this region in northeastern Iran.

کلیدواژه ها:

Aphaenogaster muschtaidica ، Messor reticuliventris ، new reports ، Northeastern Iran