Ant community composition in a citrus grove reveals eastern expansion in Florida of the South American big-headed ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

Florida has become a worldwide hotspot for introduced and invasive ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Furthermore, studies have shown that non-native ants support other invasive insects in Florida, such as the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), which is the vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the causal pathogen of citrus greening, the worst citrus disease in the world. The Asian citrus psyllid establishes beneficial interactions with invasive, introduced, and native ants. In this study, we described the ant diversity in a citrus grove in south Florida as a first step to assess ant-Asian citrus psyllid interactions for future studies. During the summer of 2018, 25 pitfall traps were set in a citrus grove. The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Buren), was present in all the traps (100 %), and 19 traps (76 %) had Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager), the pyramid ant, which is native to the southeast United States. Two introduced ants, Cardiocondyla emeryi (Forel) and Brachymyrmex obscurior (Forel), were found in 15 (60 %) and 11 (44 %) traps, respectively. The South American big-headed ant, Pheidole obscurithorax (Naves), was found in 14 traps (56 %). This introduced ant has been found to co-exist with S. invicta, and to our knowledge, this is the first report of the species in this eastern part of peninsular Florida. Finally, Cardiocondyla venustula (Wheeler), an introduced ant from Africa, was found in one of the traps. Although, this ant is found in south Florida, it seems uncommon, and this is its first report in this county. Our study highlights the continued spread of introduced and invasive ants in Florida.