Exotic Ants and Native Ant Fauna of Brazilian Hospitals

Abstract

This chapter aims to investigate twenty hospital "islands" in Brazil, and demonstrated that in spite of the nation's having one of the richest ant faunas of the world, hospitals are colonized predominantly by exotic ant species in an apparent random fashion. The ant species composition of the 3 hospitals that were intensively surveyed reveals strong differences with no apparent patterns. In some of the hospitals, one species dominated a wing or a floor, with another species dominating other portions of the hospital. Native species of Pheidole and Camponotus were generally restricted to extremely small areas. Contrasted with ant problems in hospitals from the temperate region, management of ant populations is much more difficult, because as one dominant species is eliminated, another will soon occupy its niche. Most native ants, even the small species of Pheidole, are generally found close to the outer walls of the hospitals, and probably rely more upon outside food sources than interior food sources.