A European Ant (Myrmica Levinodis) Introduced into Massachusetts

Wheeler, W. M.

doi:10.1093/jee/1.6.337

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Although M. rubra introduction into the United States dates back to the early 1900s (Wheeler, 1908), both historical records (Groden et al, 2005) and recent studies of mtDNA sequences from different North American populations (Hicks et al, 2014) indicate multiple independent introductions over the past century. Indeed the study of phylogeography of M. rubra by Leppänen et al (2011) revealed different haplotypes from ant samples collected in Massachusetts and those from Maine.…”

Section: Hypotheses On the Range Of Ophiocordyceps Myrmicarummentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Myrmica rubra L., the European fire ant, is an exotic ant species from Europe that has been documented in New England since 1908 (Wheeler, 1908). The native range of M. rubra extends from Great Britain to Siberia and the Black Sea to the Artic, where it inhabits moist soils, nesting under stones and in and under decaying woody debris (Groden et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ophiocordyceps myrmicarum, a new species infecting invasive Myrmica rubra in Maine

Simmons

Lund

Levitsky

et al. 2015

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

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Section: Hypotheses On the Range Of Ophiocordyceps Myrmicarummentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ophiocordyceps myrmicarum, a new species infecting invasive Myrmica rubra in Maine

Simmons

Lund

Levitsky

et al. 2015

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology

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“…Myrmica rubra (L.), a Palearctic Myrmicine with a native range stretching west to east from Spain and the British Isles to Central Asia and south to north from the Mediterranean coast through Scandinavia and central Russia, was introduced to North America around the turn of the 20th Century, sometime before 1908 (Wheeler 1908, Elmes 1974, Collingwood 1979. The species established in Maine sometime in the 1930s and is now present in a minimum of 42 Maine localities (Groden et al 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms of Competitive Displacement of Native Ant Fauna by Invading <I>Myrmica rubra</I> (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations

2014

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Exotic ants have become invasive in many regions around the world, with variable ecological impacts. Postinvasion, native ant communities are often found to be depauperate, though the causes of this apparent lack of coexistence are rarely well known. Myrmica rubra (L.), a Palearctic Myrmecine ant, is currently expanding its range as an invasive in North America. This aggressive ant forms dense, patchy local infestations and appears to aggressively displace native ant fauna. We measured behavioral interactions and rates of recruitment in experimental Þeld assays pitting native foragers against captive colonies of M. rubra at tuna-jelly or aphid baits in uninfested areas of Mt. Desert Island, ME. Behavioral interactions were idiosyncratic with respect to the native opponent, but M. rubra generally showed signiÞcantly higher levels of recruitment, aggression, and displacement of native foragers. As with other invasive ant species shown to have broken the "dominanceÐ discovery trade-off," M. rubra was consistently faster to discover baits and disproportionately displaced native foragers, providing a plausible proximate mechanism for native ant exclusion. Finally, we surveyed ant recruitment at baits for 24 h in August 2004 at four sites with varying M. rubra abundance but found little evidence of temporal niche partitioning. Taken together, these results indicate competitive superiority by M. rubra with respect to native ant communities of the northeastern North America and suggest direct aggression and competitive exclusion at food resources can lead to local native displacement.

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“…Although the full history of the antÕs introduction and spread is not known, M. rubra has been present in Boston since at least 1906 and in a number of Maine communities since the 1950s or earlier (Wheeler 1908, Groden et al 2005. Many sites of infestation in coastal Maine are characterized by an extremely high density of both nests and workers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercolony Aggression Within and Among Local Populations of the Invasive Ant, <I>Myrmica rubra</I> (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in Coastal Maine

Garnas

Drummond

Groden

2007

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Myrmica rubra L. was introduced into New England in the early 20th century, and at present, has a patchy distribution in parts of northeastern North America, including records from 31 communities in Maine. M. rubra is highly polygynous, and colonies reproduce vegetatively, forming dense local populations where conditions are favorable. Using mobile nests and baited arenas in a series of Þeld aggression bioassays, we tested patterns of internest tolerance within and among local populations on Mt. Desert Island, ME. We found that foragers originating from fragments of the same colony or from neighboring nests retained a high level of intraspeciÞc tolerance over several months, whereas signiÞcant intercolony aggression among workers was present between colonies within the same local patch separated by Ϸ10 m. Within populations, aggression score values were found to increase linearly with internest distance within a site. Aggression was highest between colonies from spatially different populations on the island and was higher still when nests were assayed against colonies at an off-island site 70 km away in Castine, ME. These data strongly suggest a multicolonial organization within and among local populations of M. rubra in parts of its introduced range. These Þndings contradict the loss of intraspeciÞc aggression and unicolonial social structure over large geographic areas that have previously been observed in other invasive ant species, particularly Linepithema humile Mayr.

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A European Ant (Myrmica Levinodis) Introduced into Massachusetts

Cited by 21 publications

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Ophiocordyceps myrmicarum, a new species infecting invasive Myrmica rubra in Maine

Ophiocordyceps myrmicarum, a new species infecting invasive Myrmica rubra in Maine

Mechanisms of Competitive Displacement of Native Ant Fauna by Invading <I>Myrmica rubra</I> (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Populations

Intercolony Aggression Within and Among Local Populations of the Invasive Ant, <I>Myrmica rubra</I> (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in Coastal Maine

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