02522nas a2200181 4500008004100000245009500041210006900136260002100205300001200226490000700238520188900245100001802134700001402152700001602166700002102182700001702203856012002220 2009 eng d00aWorldwide spread of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)0 aWorldwide spread of the Argentine ant iLinepithema humilei Hymen cSeptember 2009,  a187-1940 v123 a*[The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868), originally from subtropical South America, is an important pest in many parts of the world. To evaluate its worldwide distribution & potential for further spread, we mapped records of L. humile from more than 2100 sites. Because several South & Central American Linepithema species have been often mis-identified as L. humile, we excluded all unconfirmed South & Central American records. We documented the earliest known L. humile records for 95 geographic areas (countries, island groups, major islands, & US states), including several for which we found no previously published records. We could not confirm any L. humile records from several South & Central American countries with published reports.Most records of L. humile come from the subtropics, particularly from regions with Mediterranean-like climates (i.e., warm dry summers and cool moist winters), including its native range in South America & exotic populations in California, the Mediterranean, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, & Japan. In more humid subtropical areas, such as the southeast US, L. humile rarely dominates outside urban areas. In tropical latitudes, L. humile dominates only at higher elevations, most notably in Hawaii. In temperate areas, L. humile is almost exclusively an indoor pest. Linepithema humile has already spread to most subtropical lowland regions with Mediterranean-like climates, but is not known yet from most tropical highland areas with suitable climates. In the past, L. humile probably arrived in tropical regions by sea accompanying human commerce & had to survive coastal lowland conditions before spreading to higher, cooler elevations. Nowadays air travel allows L. humile to stowaway in cargo delivered almost anywhere in the world. Therefore, a wider spread of this pest is expected in the future.]1 aWetterer, J K1 aWild, A L1 aSuarez, A V1 aRoura-Pascual, N1 aEspadaler, X uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/th/content/worldwide-spread-argentine-ant-ilinepithema-humilei-hymenoptera-formicidae01127nas a2200133 4500008004100000245010500041210006900146260001800215300001400233490000700247520059600254100001400850856012900864 2004 eng d00aTaxonomy and distribution of the argentine ant (Linepithema humile) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)0 aTaxonomy and distribution of the argentine ant iLinepithema humi cNovember 2004 a1204-12150 v973 a*[Linepithema humile (Mayr) 1868 is confirmed as the valid name for the Argentine ant. Morphological variation & species boundaries of L. humile are examined, with emphasis on populations from the ant's native range in southern South America. Diagnoses & illustrations are provided for male, queen, & worker castes. Collection records of L. humile in South America support the idea of a native distribution closely associated with major waterways in lowland areas of the Paraná River drainage, with recent introductions into parts of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, & Peru.]1 aWild, A L uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/th/content/taxonomy-and-distribution-argentine-ant-ilinepithema-humilei-hymenoptera-formicidae02682nas a2200121 4500008004100000245008500041210006900126300001500195490000800210520221700218100001402435856011102449 2007 eng d00aTaxonomic revision of the ant genus Linepithema (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)0 aTaxonomic revision of the ant genus iLinepithema iHymenoptera Fo avii, 1-1510 v1263 a*[The primarily Neotropical dolichoderine ant genus Linepithema is revised at the species level for the first time. Morphological and biogeographic data support the recognition of 19 species. The following taxonomic scheme is proposed: L. angulatum (Emery) stat.nov. [= pordescens (Wheeler) syn.nov.], L. dispertitum (Forel), L. flavescens (Wheeler & Mann) stat.nov., L. fuscum Mayr, L. gallardoi (Brèthes) [=breviscapa (Santschi) syn.nov. = impotens (Santschi) syn.nov.], L. humile (Mayr) [=arrogans (Chopard) = riograndense (Borgmeier)], L. iniquum (Mayr) [= bicolor (Forel) syn.nov. = dominicense (Wheeler) syn.nov. = fuscescens (Wheeler) syn.nov. = melleum (Wheeler) syn.nov. = nigellum (Emery) syn.nov. = succineum (Forel) syn.nov.], L. keiteli (Forel) [= subfaciatum (Wheeler & Mann) syn.nov.], L. leucomelas (Emery) [= aspidocoptum (Kempf) syn.nov.], L. micans (Forel) stat.nov. [= platense (Forel) syn.nov. = scotti (Santschi) syn.nov.], L. oblongum (Santschi), L. piliferum (Mayr). Seven species are described as new: L. anathema sp.nov., L. aztecoides sp.nov., L. cerradense sp.nov., L. cryptobioticum sp.nov., L. neotropicum sp.nov., L. pulex sp.nov., & L. tsachila sp.nov. Seventeen species are sorted into one of 4 groups associated with the species L. fuscum, L. humile, L. iniquum, or L. neotropicum, & 2 species are left unassigned. New generic diagnoses are provided for worker, male, & queen castes. Shattuck's (1992a) generic descriptions of the worker, male, & queen castes are modified slightly to take into account expanded knowledge of character state variation. Worker &, where known, male & queen castes are described. Diagnoses, illustrations, & keys are supplied for worker & male castes. Discussions of variation, comparisons to similar species, & nomenclatural issues are given for each species. Also included are synopses of life history traits such as queen number, colony structure, geographic distribution, nest site, habitat records, & associations with parasitoid Pseudacteon flies (Diptera: Phoridae). Iridomyrmex humilioides = Linepithema humilioides= Gracilidris humilioides is excluded from Linepithema. Linepithema inacatum is incertae sedis in Linepithema.]1 aWild, A L uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/th/content/taxonomic-revision-ant-genus-ilinepithema-ihymenoptera-formicidae01859nas a2200133 4500008004100000245006600041210006100107260002100168300000900189490000900198520141200207100001401619856009201633 2007 eng d00aA catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)0 acatalogue of the ants of Paraguay Hymenoptera Formicidae cpublished: 26 Oc a1-550 v16223 a*[The ant communities of the Paraná River drainage in South America have spawned several major invasive species & a number of cosmopolitan tramp species, including the fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren & the Argentine ant Linepithema humile (Mayr). Paraguay sits at the center of the Paraná drainage, but hosts one of the most poorly-documented ant faunas in the Neotropics, imposing a taxonomic impediment to ant studies in the region. In order to establish a baseline of knowledge about Paraguay’s myrmecofauna, I surveyed 19 entomological collections & the published literature for records of Paraguayan ants. The resulting catalogue lists 541 ant species, 423 of which could be associated with available names. The Chao-2 estimate of species richness, calculated from the incidence of uniques & doubletons, estimates that the total ant species richness for Paraguay is 698 +/- 35, suggesting that the catalogue is about 80% complete & more than 100 species remain to be discovered. The Paraguayan ant fauna is characterized by many typical Neotropical elements, but shows low endemism, an elevated diversity of attine ants, and only 6 non-native species. No new taxa are described here, but 40 taxonomic changes are introduced to clean antiquated trinomials from the fauna. The history of Paraguayan myrmecology is discussed, & a reference list is provided for species-level identifications.]1 aWild, A L uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/th/content/catalogue-ants-paraguay-hymenoptera-formicidae01716nas a2200133 4500008004100000245006200041210005700103260002100160300001000181490000700191520127900198100001401477856009101491 2009 eng d00aEvolution of the Neotropical ant genus Linepithema0 aEvolution of the Neotropical ant genus iLinepithemai cPublished Online a49-620 v343 a*[A comprehensive species-level phylogeny of the ant genus Linepithema Mayr, a Neotropical group best known for the invasive Argentine ant L. humile (Mayr), is inferred for the first time using fragments from 3 nuclear loci [wingless (WG), long-wavelength rhodopsin (LWR) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS-2)] and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Monophyly of the genus is strongly supported in parsimony, likelihood & Bayesian analyses of the concatenated data, as is the monophyly of 4 species groups defined previously on the basis of morphology. An Andean species, L. oblongum (Santschi), is the sister taxon of the Argentine ant. Eight of the 11 species whose monophyly was testable in the analysis were inferred to be monophyletic. Several instances of species paraphyly & one case of mitochondrial introgression suggest that complex population genetic processes underpin the patterns of diversity in Linepithema, & that simple genetic approaches to taxonomy such as DNA barcoding should be treated with caution. A maximum likelihood reconstruction of ancestral distributions suggests that Linepithema is of southern South American origin. The populations in the Greater Antilles are the result of 4 independent colonization events.]1 aWild, A L uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/th/content/evolution-neotropical-ant-genus-ilinepithemai