Ants Collected at Tall Timbers Research Station
Joe A. MacGown and JoVonn G. Hill
uploaded 13 October 2011
While on the 2011 William H. Cross Expedition in the Florida panhandle and parts of southern Georgia, we collected ants at Tall Timbers Research Station. Our collecting sites at Tall Timbers were made in oak scrub, pine savanna, and hardwood forest habitats.
During this Cross Expedition, we also collected ants at other localities including the Apalachicola National Forest in Leon County, FL; the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve TNC in Liberty County, FL; Torreya State Park, in Liberty Co., FL; St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, in Wakulla Co., FL; the Wade Tract (which is managed by Tall Timbers) in Thomas Co., GA; and River Creek Wildlife Management Area, in Thomas Co., GA. [complete list of ants collected on 2011 Cross Expedition]. Our primary purpose during these trips is to collect a wide variety of insects (not just ants); therefore, this list does not reflect the level of ant diversity present. But, perhaps it will be of interest to someone. All collections were made from 1 through 5 August 2011.
Tall Timbers Research Station, scrub habitat
A total of 21 species of ants were collected at Tall Timbers, including 5 introduced species. Introduced species are indicated by an asterisk (*). While at Tall Timbers, we did not collect any unusual species of ants, nor any that we would really associate with prime sandhill habitat. In general, the ants that we collected at Tall Timbers included species that might typify somewhat disturbed sandhill habitats. Although the area was not "over-run" with exotic species or common species that are sometimes abundant in very disturbed sandhills (i.e. Dorymyrmex smithi), neither did we find species that we consider to be indicators of pristine sandhill habitat such as Dorymyrmex bossutus and Nylanderia phantasma.
List of Ants from Tall
(species are arranged alphabetically by genus)
*Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr (introduced, pest)
Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) (pest)
Camponotus floridanus (Buckley) (pest)
Colobopsis impressa Roger
Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr (pest)
Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager)
Forelius pruinosus (Roger)
Hypoponera opacior (Forel)
Nylanderia parvula (Mayr)
Odontomachus brunneus (Patton)
Pheidole bilimeki Mayr
Pheidole dentata Mayr (pest?)
Pheidole metallescens Emery
*Pheidole navigans Forel (introduced)
*Pheidole obscurithorax Naves (introduced)
Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille)
Pseudomyrmex ejectus (Smith) (pest?)
Stigmatomma pallipes (Haldeman)
*Solenopsis invicta Buren (introduced, pest)
Solenopsis pergandei Forel
*Strumigenys membranifera Emery (introduced)
