Exotic Ants of Florida [Florida Ants] [Florida Pest Ants]
Joe MacGown
In the southeasten United States, Florida far and away leads the other states with 62 exotic species. This is not surprising as much of Florida is encircled by the ocean and has many entry points at various ports. Additionally, a large portion of Florida is subtropical, and introduced ants from tropical localities appear to prosper there. The exotic ants listed below are thought to have originated from a variety of regions including Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia (Deyrup et al. (2000).
Clicking on a species name will lead to a page with further information and photographs of that species. Although species pages are at various levels of progress, most pages now have representative photographs of at least workers of the species. In addition to the photographs of ants taken by Joe MacGown at the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM), many photos are used, with permission, from AntWeb, a web site about ants of the world with amazing photos. Another site with photographs of ants is "Discover Life." The Discover Life site provides a list of North American ants with photos at "Kinds of Ants , Ants of North America Page". On each individual MEM species page, a link is provided (at the bottom of the page) for that species on both the AntWeb site and the Discover Life ant site. Additionally, many of the species found in this list can be identified using the identification keys found on this web site.
Exotic Ants of Florida (arranged alphabetically)
Anochetus mayri Emery (introduced-Neotropics)
Brachymyrmex minutus Forel (Introduced?-West Indies)
Brachymyrmex obscurior Forel (Introduced-Neotropics, pest)
Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr (introduced-Argentina, Neotropics, pest)
Brachymyrmex sp-01 (previously identified as B. brevicornis) (Introduced?-Central & South America?)
Brachyponera chinensis (Emery) (introduced-China, Japan, pest)
Camponotus conspicuus inaequalis Roger (introduced? may be native, pest)
Camponotus planatus Roger (introduced-Central America, pest)
Camponotus sexguttatus Fabricius (introduced-West Indies, pest)
Camponotus tortuganus Emery (introduced? may be native, structural pest)
Cardiocondyla emeryi Forel (introduced-Old World Tropics-Africa, pest?)
Cardiocondyla minutior Forel (introduced-IndoMalaysia)
Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler (introduced-Asia?
Cardiocondyla venustula Wheeler (introduced-Old World Tropics?, pest?)
Cardiocondyla wroughtonii (Forel) (introduced-tropical Asia & Australia, pest?)
Crematogaster obscurata (Emery) (introduced?-Southern South America)
Cyphomyrmex minutus Mayr (introduced?-West Indies, Carribean)
Cyphomyrmex rimosus (Spinola) (introduced-Neotropics)
Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) (introduced-Brazil)
Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger) (introduced-Europe?, pest)
Linepithema humile (Mayr) (introduced-Argentina, pest)
Monomorium destructor (Jerdon) (introduced-Old World Tropics-Africa or India?, pest)
Monomorium ebeninum Forel (introduced-West Indies)
Monomorium floricola (Jerdon) (introduced-Old World Tropics-India & Southeast Asia, pest)
Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus) (introduced-Africa?, pest)
Myrmelachista ramulorum Wheeler (Introduced-Neotropics)
Nylanderia bourbonica (Forel) (introduced-Old World Tropics, pest)
Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (introduced-South America)
Nylanderia guatemalensis (Forel) (Introduced-Central America, pest??)
Nylanderia pubens (Forel) (introduced-Neotropics, Caribbean?, pest)
Nylanderia vividula (Nylander) (introduced?-Mexico?, nuisance pest)
Ochetellus glaber (Mayr) (introduced-Australia)
Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus) (introduced)
Odontomachus ruginodis Smith (introduced-West Indies)
Poneracantha triangularis (Mayr) (introduced-Neotropics?)
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) (introduced-Old World Tropics-Africa?, pest)
Pheidole flavens Roger (introduced-Neotropics)
Pheidole megacephala Fabricius (introduced-Old World Tropic-Africa?, pest)
Pheidole navigans Forel (introduced- Greater Antilles,Puerto Rico?)
Pheidole obscurithorax Naves (introduced-Argentina)
Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery (FL) (introduced - Madagascar)
Prionopelta antillana Forel (introduced-Lesser Antilles or Central America)
Pseudomyrmex cubaensis (Forel) (introduced?-Greater Antilles, Bahamas)
Pseudomyrmex elongatus (Mayr) (introduced?-Costa Rica, Jamaico)
Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius) (introduced-Mexico or Central America, pest?)
Pseudoponera stigma Fabricius (introduced-uncertain-pantropical tramp, pest?)
Strumigenys eggersi Emery (introduced-Central or South America)
Strumigenys emmae (Emery) (introduced--Old World Tropics)
Strumigenys epinotalis Weber (introduced-Central or South America)
Strumigenys gundlachi (Roger) (introduced-Central or South America)
Strumigenys hexamera (Brown) (introduced-Japan)
Strumigenys lanuginosa Wheeler (introduced-Mexico or Central America)
Strumigenys margaritae Forel (introduced-Neotropics)
Strumigenys membranifera Emery (introduced-Old World Tropics-Europe)
Strumigenys rogeri Emery (introduced-Africa)
Strumigenys silvestrii Emery (introduced-South America)
Solenopsis invicta Buren (introduced-Brazil, pest)
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) (introduced-Old World Tropics, pest)
Technomyrmex difficilis Forel (previously misidentified as T. albipes (Smith), see Wetterer, 2008) (introduced-Old World Tropics, pest)
Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander) (introduced-Old World Tropics-SE Asia, pest)
Tetramorium caldarium (Roger) (introduced-Indo-Pacific region, pest)
Tetramorium lanuginosum Mayr (introduced-Old World Tropics-SE Asia?, pest)
Tetramorium simillimum (F. Smith) (introduced-Old World Tropics, pest)
Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (introduced-South America, pest)
Deyrup, M., S. Cover, and L. Davis. 2000. Exotic ants in Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 126 293-325.
