A preliminary list of the Ant Fauna in Northeastern Sahara of Algeria (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

We present here a preliminary list of ant fauna of some study sites in the northeastern Sahara of Algeria using two methodologies, quadrat and pitfall traps (Barber-pots) methods. This work was conducted in wild and agricultural ecosystems in the basin of Ouargla, El-Oued region and Djamaa region. We record a total of 26 species of 12 genera belonging to three subfamilies Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, and Myrmicinae. Species of the Myrmicinae and Formicinae were the most abundant with 62.96% and 29.63% respectively. The most diverse genus was Monomorium Mayr, 1855 (6 species), followed by Messor Forel, 1890 (5). The highest diversity of ants was in Djamaa region (24 species), followed by Ouargla (18) and El-Oued (13). Moreover, this work shows the first record of the species Strumigenys membranifera Emery, 1869 for the Country. Finally, we observed a variation in the distribution of ant species between study sites, for why, ecological determinants such as soil need to be studied deeply to explain their influence on the repartition and richness of the Saharan myrmycofauna of Algeria.

Keywords

• Naturel areas
• cultivated areas
• Strumigenis membranifera
• Sahara
• myrmecofauna