Origins and genetic composition of the European fire ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Newfoundland, Canada

The European Fire Ant, Myrmica rubra (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is an invasive stinging ant that has only recently been recorded in Newfoundland, Canada. The goal of the present study was to investigate the origins of M. rubra ants in Newfoundland. We analysed mtDNA sequences from the cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase I genes of ants from six localities in Newfoundland, and neighbouring regions of eastern Canada and the United States of America, and compared them with mtDNA data from a recent wide-scale phylogeographical study of the ant throughout Europe. There is evidence for at least four distinct sources of ants on the island. The putative routes of colonisation of the ant to Newfoundland are discussed, as are the possible reasons why it went undiscovered for many decades.