A Preliminary Checklist of the Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Everglades National Park

Abstract

Everglades National Park encompasses 602,616 ha within Dade, Monroe and Collier counties of southern, peninsular Florida. The Park contains varied habitat types including rockland pine, mangrove swamp, hardwood hammock, freshwater slough, freshwater marl prairie, cypress swamp, and coastal prairie as well as marine and estuarine habitats (Everglades National Park official map and guide 1993). The Everglades may function as a last refuge for rare and rapidly disappearing natural communities. It also includes areas that were once managed for such diverse uses as cattle ranching and sugar cane production. The ant fauna, therefore, is likely to be rich in indigenous species of natural habitats as well as species typical of disturbed sites, including exotics. The Everglades museum had representatives of only one species of ant ( Camponotus abdominalis floridanus ) from within park boundaries. There is no published, comprehensive list of ants collected from within this unique area. This study provides a preliminary catalogue of ant species of the Everglades and serves as groundwork for more thorough studies of ant ecology in the Park. Ants were collected from: rockland pine along Research Road (Dade Co.); Palma Vista Hammock, a hardwood hammock near Anhinga Trail (Dade Co.); the disturbed area surrounding the buildings of the Dan Beard Research Facility (Dade Co.); wetland prairie at “Hole-in Doughnut”, 1 km SW of the research facilities (Dade Co.); wet flatwoods at Long Pine Key (Dade Co.); an interpretive trail that runs into wetland prairie south of Pay-Hay-Okee (Dade Co.); Rowdy Bend, a mangrove swamp north of Flamingo (Monroe Co.); coastal wetland surrounding the interpretive trail at Eco Pond south of Flamingo Bay (Monroe Co.); and disturbed habitat within historically hardwood hammock at Flamingo (Monroe Co.). Collections were made from 1 June to 31 June 1992 during both day and night. Dead twigs and sticks were split open to uncover ant nests, bark was peeled from dead trees, and fallen logs were overturned to search for ants. Foraging ants were collected when found, and nests were excavated to collect nest series. Alates and foragers attracted to lights were collected at night.