02147nas a2200193 4500008004100000022001400041245009200055210006900147260001600216520153900232653002401771653001901795653001401814653002101828653001501849653001801864100001801882856005301900 2013 eng d a1387-354700aA South American fire ant, Solenopsis nr. saevissima, in Guadeloupe, French West Indies0 aSouth American fire ant Solenopsis nr saevissima in Guadeloupe F cMay-08-20153 a

Several species of fire ants, well known for their painful stings, have spread from their native ranges and have become invasive pests, notably Solenopsis geminataSolenopsis invicta, and Solenopsis richteri. Here, I report the first known exotic spread of another fire ant, Solenopsis nr. saevissima, a South American species now established on the French West Indian island of Guadeloupe. In 2008, I first found this shiny yellow fire ant at Plage de Viard beach on Guadeloupe. Genetic analyses indicated that this species was close to the yellow–brown variant of S. saevissima known only from Western Amazonia, but not an exact match. I returned to Guadeloupe in 2011 and found S. nr.saevissima at Plage de Viard plus five additional sites along a >20 km stretch on the east coast of Basse-Terre, from the Jarry commercial shipping port in the north to Plage Roseau in the south. It seems most likely that S. nr. saevissima arrived in Guadeloupe from South America in a commercial shipment unloaded at the port in Jarry. It is unclear whether this species will develop into a major new problem. Solenopsis nr. saevissima may simply replace another pernicious fire ant, S. geminata, which apparently arrived in Guadeloupe from South America several 100 years ago

10abiological invasion10aExotic species10aFire ants10aInvasive species10aSolenopsis10aStinging ants1 aWetterer, J K uhttps://antkey.myspecies.info/zh-hans/node/33118