Occurrence of Leaf-Cutting and Grass-Cutting Ants of the Genus Atta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Geographic Regions of Brazil

Luiz Carlos Forti,Kátia Kaelly Andrade Sousa,Suzany Aguiar Leite,Jael Santos Rando,Maria Aparecida Castellani,Aldenise Alves Moreira,Roberto Da Silva Camargo,Nadia Caldato

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v67i4.5741

Abstract

Leaf-cutting ants are widely distributed in Brazil, particularly species of the genus Atta. We therefore described the occurrence of leaf-cutting and grass-cutting ant species of the genus Atta. Five routes comprising some of the main highways in the South, Southeast, Center-West, and North of Brazil were sampled, in addition to ants received from other 82 municipalities, composing 300 municipalities sampled. This is the first comprehensive study of Atta in Brazil. The following species were found: A. laevigata, A. capiguara, A. sexdens rubropilosa, A. sexdens piriventris, A. sexdens sexdens and A. cephalotes. Atta laevigata and A. capiguara were the species present in the largest number of the Brazilian municipalities sampled. Atta laevigata assumed the position of species of greatest occurrence in the Brazilian territory. Atta sexdens piriventris was only recorded in the southern region of Brazil. Atta bisphaerica presented lower expansion than A. capiguara. Atta cephalotes and Atta opaciceps are species of very restricted occurrence. Southeastern region was characterized by the occurrence of A. capiguara and A. laevigata. Atta laevigata exhibited a generalized pattern of occurrence in the Center-West and North. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the so far unknown occurrence of leaf-cutting and grass-cutting ants within Brazil.

Highlights

Leaf-cutting ants are known in Brazil as saúvas, the genus Atta Fabricius
Considering the 300 sampled municipalities (Table 3), frequency of leaf-cutting ant species are: Atta laevigata (32.6%), A. capiguara (20.0%), A. sexdens rubropilosa (10.0%), A. sexdens piriventris (9.7%), A. sexdens sexdens (2.7%), A. cephalotes (1.6%), A. opaciceps (0.3%), A. bisphaerica (0.3%), and A. vollenweideri (0.3%)
Our results showed that Atta laevigata and A. capiguara were the species present in the largest number of the sampled municipalities (Fig 1); Atta sexdens piriventris was only recorded in the South region of Brazil, with predominance in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul; Atta bisphaerica presented restricted occurrence, only at the state of São Paulo

Summary

Introduction

Leaf-cutting ants are known in Brazil as saúvas, the genus Atta Fabricius (tribe Attini, subfamily Myrmicinae). Leaf-cutting ants are ecosystem engineers as they move massive amounts of soil during nest construction and remove foliage, which may change plant composition, acting as herbivores in natural systems (Farji-Brener & Illes, 2000; Urbas et al, 2007; Costa et al, 2008; Meyer et al, 2011; Leal et al, 2014; Stephan et al, 2015) In agricultural areas these alteration of the soil and the attack on plants led to the classification as pest insects (Fowler et al, 1989). The geographic distribution, frequency and density of Attini ants in certain habitats is related to the environmental conditions such as type of vegetation, soil type, cultivation systems, climate change (Fowler, 1983; Farji-Brener & Ruggiero, 1994; Gusmão & Loeck, 1999; Farji-Brener et al, 2016), among others

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