Mississippi Entomological Museum, Ants (Formicidae) of the Southeastern United States - Ants of Mississippi (species list) by Joe A. MacGown

Ants of Mississippi (species list) [exotic species] [pest species]

Currently 192 species plus the hybrid fire ant, Solenopsis X invicta, from 9 subfamilies and 40 genera are known to occur in Mississippi. Another species, Camponotus atriceps, was collected in Mississippi in the early 1900's, but this species was collected in imported bananas and is not thought to be a resident. Therefore, it is not included in the total number of ants from the state. This list of ants was compiled by Joe MacGown from material in the MEM collection, published records, and recent collections. Not all habitats in the state have been sampled thoroughly, and it is expected that the species total from the state will increase.

Historically, ants were studied extensively in Mississippi by Marion Smith from the early 1920's through the early 1930's (Smith 1924a, b, c; 1927; 1928a, b; 1931; and 1932). Smith made great contributions to our knowledge of Mississippi's ant fauna by finding many new state records and even describing some new species. However, since that time, many taxonomic changes have taken place, thus making his "Ants of Mississippi" lists basically unusable. Compounding this problem is the need to incorporate recently described and introduced species to his list of ants of Mississippi. Consequently, the MEM has undertaken a survey for ants in Mississippi, which started in 2001.

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. Also see the "Mississippi Ants" site at AntWeb for photographs of Mississippi species. 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.

The list presented is arranged by subfamily, tribe, and genus according to Bolton (2014). Species that are in the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM), literature records, web based records, and/or other citations of records are noted in brackets following the species name (note that not all published records are given).

Family Formicidae
Subfamily Dolichoderinae
Tribe Dolichoderini
Dolichoderus mariae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Dolichoderus pustulatus Mayr [MEM; Smith 1924b, 1931a]
Dolichoderus taschenbergi (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager) [MEM]
Dorymyrmex flavus McCook [MEM]
Dorymyrmex grandulus (Forel) [MEM]
Dorymyrmex smithi Cole [MEM]
Forelius mccooki (McCook) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Forelius pruinosus (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Linepithema humile (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) [MEM]
Tapinoma sessile (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]

Subfamily Formicinae
Tribe Lasiini
Lasius aphidicola (Walsh) [MEM; Smith, 1928b]
Lasius americanus Emery [MEM; Smith 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Lasius brevicornis Emery [MEM;Smith 1931a]
Lasius claviger (Roger) [Smith 1931a]
Lasius interjectus (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Lasius neoniger Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927]
Nylanderia arenivaga (Wheeler) [MEM; Smith, 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Nylanderia concinna (Trager) [MEM]
Nylanderia faisonensis (Forel) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b; Trager, 1984]
Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (introduced, pest) [MEM]
Nylanderia parvula (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Nylanderia phantasma (Trager) [MEM]
Nylanderia querna Kallal and LaPolla [MEM; Kallal and LaPolla 2012]
Nylanderia trageri Kallal and LaPolla [MEM; Kallal and LaPolla 2012]
Nylanderia vividula (Nylander) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Prenolepis imparis (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924c, 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]

Tribe Plagiolepidini
Brachymyrmex depilis Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Brachymyrmex obscurior Forel [MEM]
Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr [MEM, MacGown et al., 2007]
Brachymyrmex sp.-03 [MEM]

Tribe Camponotini
Camponotus americanus Mayr (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus caryae (Fitch) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus chromaiodes Bolton (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus decipiens Emery (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus discolor (Buckley) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1927, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus floridanus (Buckley) (pest) [MEM]
Camponotus nearcticus Emery (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus planatus Roger (introduced) (pest) [MEM]
Camponotus snellingi Bolton (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus socius Roger (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Camponotus subbarbatus Emery (pest) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus tortuganus Emery (introduced? pest) [MEM]
Colobopsis impressa Roger [MEM; Smith, 1924c; Tynes, 1964; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Colobopsis mississippiensis [MEM; Smith,1924c; Tynes, 1964]
Colobopsis obliqua (Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1931a]

Tribe Formicini
Formica biophilica Trager [MEM; Trager et al., 2007]
Formica dolosa Buren [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Formica exsectoides Forel [MEM]
Formica integra Nylander [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Formica pallidefulva Latreille [MEM: Smith 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Formica subsericea Say [MEM; Smith 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Polyergus longicornis M. R. Smith [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b; Trager 2013]
Polyergus montivagus Wheeler [MEM; Hill, 2006; Trager 2013]
Polyergus ruber Trager [MEM; Trager, 2103]

Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae
Tribe Pseudomyrmecini
Pseudomyrmex ejectus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1924]
Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius) (introduced, pest?) [MEM, BugGuide, 2010]
Pseudomyrmex pallidus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pseudomyrmex seminole Ward [MEM; Ward, 1985]

Subfamily Dorylinae
Neivamyrmex carolinensis (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex opacithorax (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex pilosus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]

Subfamily Amblyoponinae
Tribe Amblyoponini
Stigmatomma pallipes (Haldeman) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]

Subfamily Ponerinae
Tribe Ponerini
Brachyponera chinensis (Emery) (MEM)
Cryptopone gilva (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Hypoponera inexorata (Wheeler) [MEM; Smith, 1927; Hill, 2006]
Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) [MEM; Smith 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Hypoponera opacior (Forel) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger) [MEM]
Odontomachus brunneus (Patton) (MEM)
Odontomachus haematodus (Linnaeus) [MEM]
Ponera exotica M.R.Smith [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Ponera pennsylvanica Buckley [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]

Subfamily Ectatomminae
Tribe Ectatommini
Poneracantha triangularis (Mayr) [MEM]

Subfamily Proceratiinae
Tribe Proceratiini
Discothyrea testacea Roger [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium chickasaw de Andrade [MEM; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003]
Proceratium crassicorne Emery [MEM; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003]
Proceratium croceum (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium pergandei (Emery) [MEM; Smith, 1928b; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium silaceum Roger [MEM; Smith, 1928a; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]

Subfamily Myrmicinae
Tribe Myrmicini
Myrmica latifrons Starcke [Smith, 1924a]
Myrmica pinetorum Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1932]
Myrmica punctiventris Roger [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Myrmica spatulata Smith [MEM; Smith, 1931a]

Pogonomyrmecini
Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille) [MEM; Smith, 1924a]

Stenammini
Aphaenogaster ashmeadi (Emery) [MEM; Smith, 1924]
Aphaenogaster carolinensis Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster flemingi Smith [MEM; Smith, 1928b]
Aphaenogaster floridana Smith [MEM]
Aphaenogaster fulva Roger [MEM; Smith, 1924a,1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster lamellidens Mayr [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster mariae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924a, MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster miamiana Wheeler [MEM]
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924a, 1932]
Aphaenogaster treatae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Stenamma foveolocephalum M.R.Smith [Smith, 1931a; Dubois & Davis, 1998]
Stenamma impar Forel [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a-reported as S. meridionale]

Solenopsidini
Monomorium floricola (Jerdon) [MEM]
Monomorium minimum (Buckley) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus) [MEM; Smith, 1924a]
Monomorium viridum Brown [Storz and Tschinkel, 2004]
Solenopsis abdita Thompson [MEM]
Solenopsis carolinensis Forel [MEM]
Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Solenopsis globularia littoralis Creighton [MEM; Smith 1931a]
Solenopsis invicta Buren [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994]
Solenopsis invicta X richteri [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Solenopsis molesta (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Solenopsis pergandei Forel [MEM; Smith 1931a]
Solenopsis picta Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927]
Solenopsis richteri Forel [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994]
Solenopsis salina Wheeler (Pacheco, 2007) [Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis subterranea MacKay Vinson [MEM]
Solenopsis tennesseensis M.R.Smith [MEM]
Solenopsis texana Emery [MEM; Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis tonsa Thompson [MEM]
Solenopsis xyloni McCook [MEM; Smith, 1924b]

Attini
Cyphomyrmex rimosus (Spinola) [MEM; Smith, 1979]
Pheidole bicarinata Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole bilimeki Mayr [MEM; Sarnat et al. 2015]
Pheidole crassicornis Emery [Smith, 1924a]
Pheidole davisi Wheeler [MEM]
Pheidole dentata Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924b; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole dentigula Smith [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole lamia Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Pheidole metallescens Emery [MEM; Smith, 1924b; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pheidole navigans Forel [MEM; Sarnat et al. 2015, Storz & Tschinkel, 2004]
Pheidole morrisi Forel [MEM; Smtih, 1924a]
Pheidole obscurithorax Naves [MEM; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004]
Pheidole pilifera (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; Hill, 2006]
Pheidole soritis Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1924a]
Pheidole tetra Wheeler [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pheidole tysoni Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole n. sp. [MEM]
Strumigenys abdita (Wesson & Wesson) [MEM]
Strumigenys angulata Smith [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys bimarginata Wesson & Wesson [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys bunki (Brown) [Bolton, 2000]
Strumigenys clypeata Roger [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys creightoni Smith [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys dietrichi Smith [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys epinotalis Weber [MEM]
Strumigenys filirrhina (Brown) [MEM]
Strumigenys hexamera (Brown) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys hyalina (Bolton) [MEM; Bolton 2000; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys inopina (Deyrup & Cover) [MEM]
Strumigenys laevinasis Smith [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys louisianae Roger [MEM; Smith 1927, 1932; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys margaritae Forel [MEM] (introduced)
Strumigenys membranifera Emery [MEM; Smith 1931b, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys metazytes (Bolton) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys missouriensis Smith [MEM; Smith, 1931b, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys ohioensis Kennedy & Schramm [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys ornata Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys pergandei Emery [MEM]
Strumigenys pilinasis Forel [MEM; Smith,1931a; MacGown et al., 2005]
Strumigenys pulchella Emery [MEM; Smith, 1928b, 1931b; Bolton, 2000; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys reflexa Wesson & Wesson [MEM]; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys rohweri Smith [MEM; Brown, 1953]
Strumigenys rostrata Emery [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys silvestrii Emery [MEM]
Strumigenys subnuda (MacGown and Hill) [MEM]
Strumigenys talpa Weber [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Strumigenys wrayi (Brown) [MEM]
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (McCook) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]

Literature Cited

Baroni Urbani, C. and M. L. de Andrade. 2003. The ant genus Proceratium in the extant and fossil record (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Monografie 36: 1-480.

Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. Vol. 65, part 1-2.

Bolton, B. 2014. An online catalog of the ants of the world. Available online: http://www.antweb.org/world.jsp (accessed 31 October 2014).

Hill, J. G. 2006. Environmental Variables Affecting Ant Community Composition in Mississippi's Black Belt Prairie and Flatwoods Regions. Masters Thesis, Mississippi State University. 72 pp.

Kallal, R. J. and J. S. LaPolla. 2012. Monograph of Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the World, Part II: Nylanderia in the Nearctic. Zootaxa 3508: 1-64.

MacGown, J. A., J.G. Hill, and M. A. Deyrup. 2007. Brachymyrmex patagonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an emerging pest species in the southeastern United States. Florida Entomologist 90: 457-464.

MacGown, J. A. and R. L. Brown. 2006a. Survey of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Tombigbee National Forest in Mississippi. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 79: 325-340.

MacGown, J. A. and R. L. Brown. 2006b. Observations on high diversity of native ant species coexisting with imported fire ants at a microspatial scale in Mississippi. Southeastern Naturalist 5: 573-586

MacGown, J. A., R. L. Brown, and J. G. Hill. 2005. An annotated list of the Pyramica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dacetini) of Mississippi. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 78: 285–289

Pacheco, J. A. 2007. The New World ants of the genus Solenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PhD dissertation, The University of Texas at El Paso. i-xxi +543 pp.

Sarnat, E.M.; Fischer, G.; Guénard, B.; Economo, E.P. 2015. Introduced Pheidole of the world: taxonomy, biology and distribution. ZooKeys 533:1-109.

Shoemaker, D. D, K. G. Ross, and M. L. Arnold. 1994. Development of RAPD markers in two introduced fire ants, Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri, and their application to the study of a hybrid zone. Molecular Biology 3: 531-539.

Smith, M. R. 1924a. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 77-85.

Smith, M. R. 1924b. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 121-127.

Smith, M. R. 1924c. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 121-127.

Smith, M. R. 1927. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Pheidole (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 38: 308-314.

Smith, M. R. 1928a. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Aphaenogaster (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 39: 242.

Smith, M. R. 1928b. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Aphaenogaster (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 39: 275-279.

Smith, M. R. 1931a. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 42: 16-24.

Smith, M. R. 1931b. A revision of the genus Strumigenys of America, north of Mexico, based on a study of the workers. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 24: 384-387.

Smith, M. R. 1932. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 42: 157-160.

Snelling, R. R. 1988. Taxonomic notes on Nearctic species of Camponotus, Subgenus Myrmentoma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). pp. 55-78 in J.C. Trager (ed). Advances in Myrmecology. E.J. Brill: New York, New York, USA.

Snelling, R. R. 1995. Systematics of Nearctic ants of the genus Dorymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contr. Sci. (Los Angel.). 454: 1-14.

Storz, S. R. and W. R. Tschinkel. 2004. Distribution, spread, and ecological associations of the introduced ant Pheidole obscurithorax in the southeastern United States. Journal of Insect Science 4: 1-11.

Trager, J. C. 1984. A revision of the genus Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the continental United States. Sociobiology 9: 49-162.

Trager, J. C. 1988. A revision of the Conomyrma (Hymenoptera: Fomicidae) from the southeastern United States, especially Florida, with keys to the species. Florida Entomologist 71: 11-29.

Trager, J. C. 2013. Global revision of tgeh dulotic ant genus Polyergus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Formicinae). Zootaxa 3722 (4): 501–548.

Trager, J. C., J. A. MacGown and M. D. Trager. 2007. Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). In: Snelling, R. R., P. S. Ward, and B. L. Fisher (editors), Advances in ant systematics. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80: 610-636.

Tynes, J. S. 1964. Biological and ecological studies of ants of the subgenus Colobopsis in Mississippi. M. S. Thesis, Mississippi State College, State College. i-vii + 73 pp.

Ward, P. S. 1985. The Nearctic species of the genus Pseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Quaest. Entomol. 21: pp. 209-246.