A New Locality Record forVollenhovia emeryiW. M. Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Maryland, USA

Abstract

Two worker specimens of the introduced ant species Vollenhovia emeryi (W. M. Wheeler) were collected in Baltimore County on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland, on September 15, 2010. Vollenhovia emeryi has previously been collected in two localities in Maryland: the Potomac River at Fort Washington National Park, Prince George’s County; and Glen Echo Park, Montgomery County (Kjar and Suman, 2007). Both counties are part of the Washington D.C. metro area. Outside the state, the species has been collected in Virginia at Dyke Marsh Preserve, Fairfax County (Kjar and Suman, 2007), along with specimens collected in Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C. (Holldobler and Wilson, 1990), and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (King and Green, 2005). Vollenhovia emeryi is native to Japan (Ohkawara et al., 2006) but was possibly imported to Washington D.C. in 1912 when shipments of 3,020 cherry trees were given to the United States (Fisher and Cover, 2007). A separate introduction into the United States may have also occurred in 1926 when Japan gave 2,000 cherry trees to the city of Philadelphia to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (Kjar and Suman, 2007).