Diversity of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the mangrove patches of reclaimed Sunderbans, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Ants are highly diverse social insects distributed in every terrestrial habitat except the north and south poles. Even though they are a dominant group in the mangrove ecosystem the study of ant diversity in Sunderbans mangrove, the world’s largest mangrove ecosystem is yet to start. The objective of this study was to understand the ant diversity in mangrove patches in the villages of Indian Sunderbans. Ants were collected from the reclaimed areas of Indian Sunderbans. Total of 35 species, 21 genera of ants belonging to 5 subfamilies were found in this study. The highest number of species was found in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Dilobocondyla gasteroreticulatus reported first time from West Bengal. Ant species Paratrechina longicornis, Crematogaster spp., Monomorium spp, Camponotus spp. and Tetraponera rufonigra were the most abundant species in the mangrove habitat. Most of the ants were found from the mangrove associate plant, Excoecaria agallocha. The ant species diversity index in this study is moderate (H'= 2.37), while the evenness index classified as moderate (E =0.5), and no species of ants dominate this area (D = 0.1).