1.Ground dwelling at Tarutao National Park, Southern Thailand

Suparoek Watanasit and Adullao Paoma,Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 90112. Email: [email protected]

Abstract:Tarutao National Park (KNNP) is the first national marine park which is located in southern part of Thailand. Its floral and fauna are very diverse, especially . are the main group and play an important role in ecosystem of the Park. Four study sites (Pante Malaga, Talok Udang, Talok Wau and Ludoo) were chosen in the largest island of the archipelago, namly Tarutao. The aim of this study was to determine diversity and effect of study site of ants at the Park. Three line transects of 100 m at least 20 m apart were set up in each study site. From each line transect, leaf litter and soil detritus were collected in a quadrant of 1x1 m for 3 samplings and the ant sampling was extraction by Winkler bag for 48 hours. This study was conducted in March 2008. A total number of 22 species and 13 genera belonging to 4 subfamilies were identified. The dominant subfamily was (11 species, 5 genera) and (8 species, 5 genera). The influence of study sites on species number of ant in this study indicated that study sites had no an affect on species number of ant.

Key Words: diversity, ground dwelling ant, Tarutao National Park, southern Thailand

2. ANTS IN COAL MINING REVEGETATED AREAS

Ahmad Taufiq ARMINUDIN, Nugroho Susetya Putra,Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University,Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The presence of ants in reclaimed coal mining areas might have a significant impact on the success of revegetation process due to their role in ecosystem. Therefore, we did exploration to study the abundance of ant species in revegetated areas, by using direct method (hand-picking collection), and indirect collection by establishing pitfall-trap and by using Berlese cone to collect ants from soil aggregates. Thirty-five species of ants were collected and grouped into five sub-families and 13 tribes: formicinae (camponotini, lasiini, plagiolepidini, and oecophyllini), myrmicinae (crematogastrini, solenopsidini, pheidolini, pheidologetonini, dacetonini, and tetramoriini), pseudomyrmecinae (psedomyrmecini), dolichoderinae (dolichoderini), and ponerinae (ponerini). Paratrechina longicornis was the common species found in all locations. We also found Camponotus gigas which was only collected from the primary forest.

Keywords: ant, Camponotus gigas, coal mining, Paratrechina longicornis, revegetated areas

3. DOMINANCY AND ABUNDANCE OF ANTS IN RECLAIMED AREAS: IMPLICATION FOR THE SUCCESS OF REVEGETATION EFFORT

Nugroho Susetya PUTRA & Ahmad Taufiq Arminudin,Faculty of Agriculture, Gadjah Mada University,Bulaksumur, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT:Ant has a significant role in ecosystem, although it also elicits debates on whether they are useful or awkward in environment. Therefore, the present study was conducted to study the possible detrimental effects of ant abundance as well as their dominancy on the success of revegetation in post coal-mined areas. Ants were collected by using pit-fall traps from five areas with different age of vegetation. Our results indicated that three species of ants were dominant in study areas, i.e. Anoplolepis gracilipes, Camponotus sp., and Odontoponera denticulata. Among them, the first species might be the most important since it has invasive behaviors and dominant over other . A very high attention should be made to restrain them to become dominant in all areas as they have already dominating in three of five study areas. In contrast, the attendance of Camponotus sp. might benefits for increasing the soil fertility, although strictly monitoring efforts should still to be done to regulate the population not to become dominant. Therefore, rigorous ecological studies should be conducted to keep the stable growth of vegetation as well as other ecosystem components.

Key words: Anoplolepis gracilipes, ant, Camponotus sp., dominant, invasive behavior, Odontoponera denticulata

4. A taxonomic study of ants of Vadodara, Gujarat, Western India

Archana Mishra and Dolly Kumar,Division of Entomology, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,Vadodara, Gujarat.E.mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Taxonomic study of ants of Vadodara, Gujarat State, has been conducted with the objective of documenting the various ant species that form an integral part of the ecosystem of this region of Western India. A total number of 28 species of ants belonging to 17 genera and 6 subfamilies have been identified from the urban habitats like community parks, residential areas and fragmented areas within Vadodara. The most well represented subfamily is Formicinae with 7 genera. The most speciose genera is Pheidole (Subfamily Myrmicinae) followed by Camponotus (Subfamily Formicinae) and Solenopsis (Subfamily Myrmicinae).

Taxonomic characters of ants specifically the workers are described and illustrated. Keys are provided based on the workers of the subfamilies and genera. This research aims to fill the void created by absence of any study on of Formicids of this region and intends to motivate other researchers to take up similar future research.

5.Effect of different microenvironments on the survival of Alpine ants in Mt Fuji

Mizue Ohashi (Univeristy of Hyogo), Yasuo Hagiwara (Showa University), Sumie Toda (University of Hyogo), Seiki Yamane (Kagoshima University), Japan.E.mail:[email protected]

Abstract: It is well known that ants spread widely over the world because of their high adaptability to various kinds of environment. Thanks to the small body size, they can easily find suitable small niches for establishing their colony even in extremely harsh conditions like coldness in high altitudes/latitudes, dryness in deserts and hotness in tropics. High altitudes of mountain seem to exert a severe limitation on their survival because of the coldness, dryness, direct sunlight, fewer plants and other and so on. In such habitats, it is expected that ants are confined to small areas where microenvironment allows them to maintain their colony. However little is known about which environmental factors control the survival of ants in Alpine environment. In this study, we investigated relationships between various environmental factors and ant distribution in Mt Fuji, the highest (3780 m) mountain in Japan. The survey was conducted in August 2008 along the Fujinomiya trail on the way to the summit. Four transects (each 20 m long) were set up at 3000 m, 2500 m and 2000 m altitude, respectively. Ten subplots (each 2 m2 in area) were made along a transect, thus 40 subplots at each elevation. Ants were collected by hands from the subplots together with environmental data. Time unit sampling (10 minutes) with two people was used for collecting ants from the each subplot. We measured soil temperature, soil moisture, soil respiration and slope as environmental factors. Soil respiration was measured as an index of soil biological property because it is mainly contributed by soil microbial activity and root respiration.

The number of subplots where ants were found was 3, 36 and 4 at 3000 m, 2500 m and 2000 m, respectively. The number of ants in each subplot varied from 0 to 20, and the number of species in each subplot varied from 0 to 2. We found a positive correlation between the number of ants and soil temperature at 2000 m, but no correlation at other elevations. We also found negative correlations between the number of species and slope at 2500 m, and between the number of ants and slope at 2000 m. Soil moisture and soil respiration had no correlation with the number of neither ants nor species. These results suggest that ants prefer warm micro-environments, and steep slopes are unfavorable to ants at high elevations of Mt. Fuji.

6. Monthly variations on ant collection with relation to some environmental parameters in a forest ecosystem of Meghalaya, India

Kharbani, H. and Hajong, S. R.Department of Zoology North Eastern Hill University, Shillong-22, Meghalaya, India. E.mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: The ant fauna of a forest habitat was studied in a typical forest ecosystem of Meghalaya using pitfall trap. A total of 57664 individual and 19 identified species were collected from 660 pitfall traps in five transect lines during the year 2007-08. The most abundance species is Pheidole sp.2 (63.89%). The ants captured showed a lowest in number during February and highest during October. The relationship between ecological parameters with number of individuals collected in an annual seasonal cycle was studied with the correlation of two parameter i.e. Relative humidity and temperature. The correlation showed significance of (r0.298) for air temperature, (r0.299) for Relative humidity and (ro.159) for soil temperature. It shows that the correlation is positive and the ant number shows variation depending on both temperature and Relative humidity in an annual seasonal cycle.

Keywords: Ants, monthly variations, forest habitat, environmental parameters.

7. Ants from Japanese cherry trees, Purnus x yedoensis, in public parks in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan

Riho Nakai and Watasu Nishikubo, Ikeda High School,Nishibeppu 1680, Kagoshima,890- 0033 Japan. E.mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Ants were collected from Japanese cherry trees, Purnus x yedoensis, planted in three public parks in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. Ants were manually sampled from the tree trunk and on the ground within a radius of 3 m around each tree for 15 minutes.

In one of the parks, Kotsukigawa Park, 24 trees were surveyed. Eight ant species (Tapinoma melanocephalum, Crematogaster matsumurai, Pheidole indica, Temnothorax anira, Monomorium chinense, Paratrechina sakurae, Camponotus tokioensis, japonicus) were collected from the tree trunks. Temnothorax anira was not collected from the ground, but Pachycondyla javana and Technomyrmex brunneus were only found on the ground. In total, 10 ant species were collected from the tree trunks and on the ground. On the tree trunks C. matsumurai (18/24) was the most common of the eight species based on frequency of occurrence for 24 trees. On the other hand, M. chinense (19/24) was the most common of the 9 species on the ground. In terms of the number of ants collected, the most abundant species was C. matsumurai (368) on the tree trunks, and T. melanocephalum (187) on the ground. Sampling of ants in other parks and data analysis are now in process.

8. Defensive behavior to Formica hayashi in the arboreal ant, Crematogaster matsumurai Forel

Yutaka HARADA, Ikeda High School,Nishibeppu 1680, Kagoshima,890-0033 Japan. E.mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Defensive behavior of a typical arboreal ant, Crematogaster matsumurai (Myrmicinae), was studied in Joyama Park, Kagoshaima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. In this park, C. matsumurai mainly nested in decayed parts of planted trees, such as Acer palmatum, Prunus x yedoensis and Prunus jamasakura. Formica hayashi frequently visited trees with C. matsumurai nests to forage from early spring to late autumn. Defensive behavior of C. matsumurai was seen in response to the workers of F. hayashi trying to climb up the trees from April to November. Foraging activity of F. hayashi was the highest in August, but the defensive behavior of C. matsumurai was most frequently observed in April.

Foraging activity of F. hayashi was observed from 6:00 to 18:00 on 28 August (1998) on one tree with C. matsumurai nests. Defensive behavior of C. matsumurai occurred in response to foraging F. hayashi, with the highest peak at 14:30.When F. hayashi foragers passed between the base and a fork of the trunk (approximately 0.85 m in length), many were attacked by workers of C. matsumurai waiting on the trunk. Of 139 foragers of F. hayashi, 86 (62%) were attacked by C. matsumurai. Of the 86 attacked workers, 50 (36%) were attacked once, 27 (19%) twice, and 9 (6%) more than three times. The workers attacked by C. matsumurai often fell off the tree or turned back to the ground. As to the foragers having got over the barrier, the average of passage time was 18.06 seconds when without attack, and 27.89 seconds when attacked more than three times. Foraging efficiency of the attacked workers attacked decreased remarkably.

9. Distribution of ants in the high altitudinal areas of Mt. Fuji, Japan

Sumie Toda (University of Hyogo), Mizue Ohashi (University of Hyogo), Yasuo Hagiwara (Showa University), Seiki Yamane (Kagoshima University),Japan.Email:[email protected]

Abstract:Mt. Fuji is the highest (3,780m) mountain in Japan. Since temperature decreases significantly from the foot to the summit, the abundance and biomass of living organisms should decrease with altitude. There have been intensive studies on ants on Mt. Fuji, but most of them were conducted in grassland and at altitudes less than 2,000m. Bait trapping has been a common method to study ant community on Mt. Fuji, but this limits our knowledge to the species attracted to baits. Our knowledge about ant community at high altitudes of Mt. Fuji is still very poor. In this study, we investigated the altitudinal change of ant species composition using combination of line sampling and time unit sampling at elevations more than 2,000m on Mt. Fuji.The survey was conducted along the Fujinomiya trail in August 2008. Four transects (20m each) were placed at altitudes of 3,000m, 2,500m and 2,000m, respectively. Ten subplots (each 2 m2 in area) were set up along each transect, thus a total of 40 subplots at each elevation. Time unit sampling was conducted in each subplot for 10 minutes. When we found foraging ants in subplots, we captured them with an aspirator. All ants were kept in bottles with 80% alcohol; ants were identified using the keys provided by the Myrmecological Society of Japan.We found one species, Formica lemani, at 3,000m altitude, two species, Formica lemani and kurokii, at 2,500m altitude. At 2,000m altitude, we found Formica lemani and Myrmica kotokui that was not found in the higher areas. Formica lemani was found in 3 of 40 subplots at 3,000m, 35 of 40 subplots at 2,500m, and one of 40 subplots at 2,000m altitude. Myrmica kurokii was found in 7 of 40 subplots at 2,500m and Myrmica kotokui in 5 of 40 subplots at 2,000m altitude. Kondo also reported that Formica lemani and Myrmica kurokii were found in high altitudinal zones (3,040m) on Mt. Fuji using bait traps. However, he reported Myrmica kotokui was found only in lower zones (1,450 - 1,500m), but we found that this species can survive in higher areas in Mt. Fuji in Japan.

10. Ants in the Heart of Borneo a unique possibility to join taxonomy, ecology and conservation

Carsten Brhl, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Landau, Germany. Email:[email protected]

Abstract: The interior mountain ranges of Central Borneo represent the only remaining large, contiguous and undisturbed tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia outside of western New Guinea. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) led a conservation initiative for this remaining large block of Southeast Asian rainforest a total of 220,000 km of equatorial rainforest - under the title Heart of Borneo to protect this unique ecosystem before it is lost for ever. In 2007 a declaration was signed by the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei which recognizes the Heart of Borneo initiative as a trans-boundary conservation project including national parks, production forest and other sustainable land-use. Any conservation project of this scale needs to prioritize available funds and efforts. It will be fundamental for this initiative to define core conservation areas and areas that can be used economically in a sustainable way. Along with socio-economic studies that already started, mapping of biodiversity, analyses of actual forest conversion threats and the status of keystone species need to provide essential information for scientifically founded decisions for conservation management. Conservation Biology traditionally is oriented towards vertebrates such as birds and large mammals because they are attractive to the public and good distribution data often exist. However, the biodiversity of tropical rainforests is defined by invertebrates - especially insects - and many functional processes in this ecosystem are driven by them. Therefore a research project on biodiversity patterns in Borneo could be seen as a novel contribution towards the design of an effective management strategy of the proposed conservation area. One of the target insect groups could be ants since data for some regions on Borneo are already at hand (especially Sabah and Sarawak), quantitative collection methods are established, a pictorial web based key is available (antbase) and additionally many members of ANeT are already familiar with Borneo ant species. Thus the Heart of Borneo Project also presents an unique opportunity for ANeT to bring the diversity of the members in an integrative approach involving ecologists and taxonomists in a conservation context for the last remaining rainforest in Southeast Asia to its full potential. The aim of such a project is to provide well-founded conclusions on the biodiversity status (such as species richness, proportion of endemic species, rare species communities) of various regions in the prospective conservation zone within a few years based on detailed distribution data of many ant species and knowledge of their ecology.

11.Diversity, community structure and niche differentiation of ant assemblages of four types of rainforest in the Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak

Dirk Mezger and Martin PFEIFFER,Department of Experimental Ecology,University of Ulm Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, D-89069 Ulm Germany.Email:[email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: In tropical rain forests, leaf litter and soil are an important and diverse habitat for species rich ant communities. We studied ant community structure of these ground habitats in four types of lowland rain forest in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (alluvial-, limestone-, dipterocarp and heath-forest), in order to explore whether community structure is shaped by environmental parameters and which factors are crucial for community patterns. Therefore we sampled systematically altogether 100 plots with Winkler extractors according to the ALL-protocol. We found a total of 206 ant species, with 68 to 130 species in each forest type. All ant communities were typical for the composition for primary forests with many rare species and the absence of dominant functional groups. Indicator species analysis with Monte Carlo randomisation showed that 53 species were characteristic for one of each forest type. Community structure of ants was significantly influenced by environmental parameters and spatial patterns. From 24 recorded parameters soil volume, number of surrounding trees and leaf litter coverage had the largest influence. Indicator species analysis with Monte Carlo randomisation showed that 53 species were characteristic for one of the four forest types. Analyzing different soil layers, we found 28% of the species to be restricted to the soil, while 3 % were found only in the leaf litter layer. For a broad range of selected species we demonstrated niche separation along the preferred nest temperatures. Some dacetine species were separated by morphometric properties and their walking speed. We further compared species occurrence data with 14N/15N measurements of the studied ant species, there was a negative correlation between the species number of a plot and its mean delta-N value. As illustrated by the double peak distribution of stable isotope values soil ant communities consisted of two main fractions that followed different feeding strategies: a smaller fraction with granivorous and general foraging lifestyle and for a larger portion of true predacious species.

These results confirm our hypothesis that ant communities in Mulu NP are composed of species with narrow niches that enable many species to coexist, thus maintaining high diversity. However, neutral processes and phylogeny are necessary to explain the full variance in tropical ant community patterns.

12. A hierarchical analysis of species richness and diversity of ants in relation to environmental parameters in Iran

Omid Paknia, Martin Pfeiffer,University of Ulm, Institute for Experimental Ecology, Albert Einstein Allee 11, 89069 Ulm, Germany. E mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Iran is located in the mid-latitude band of arid and semi-arid regions of the Old World in the Southwest Asia. Most of the country is a part of vast arid and semi-arid region. There is no comprehensive study on invertebrates of these vast regions. In the present study we demonstrate for the first time the spatial patterns of Iranian ant diversity and to assess the influence of environmental parameters on community patterns. We sampled ants during May to July 2007 along a 1300 km north-to-south transect in desert and steppe regions of Iran. We used the pitfall trapping method with a nested sampling design at five scales. We investigated variation of species richness, Shannon diversity and evenness from the finest to the broadest scale. We compared community structure, species richness and Shannon diversity of ants in steppe and desert regions across scales. In addition, we observed how functional groups of ants, common species and rare species change along transect. We studied the rates of commonness and rarity of ants across scales. Our results showed that species richness and diversity measures of ants increased, but evenness decreased across scales. No significant difference was found in species richness and Shannon diversity between steppe and desert regions at different scales, except for Shannon diversity at the highest scale. Camponotus was the main in steppe region. In contrast Messor, Monomorium and Cataglyphis were more common in desert regions. Looking over the complete transect, Monomorium kusenzovi was the commonest species which occurred in 39% of all pitfalls and in all Central deserts pitfall traps. The second most species Cataglyphis niger and Tetramorium striaventre both occurred in 23% of all pitfalls. On the basis of our findings we conclude that those abiotic factors that operate at broad scales, like climate heterogeneity and history, habitat heterogeneity and paleogeographical history most likely have the strongest influence on ant diversity form their spatial pattern in arid and semi arid areas of Iran.

13. ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY: ANeTs developing scientific journal Martin Pfeiffer, Institute for Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany.

John R. Fellowes, School of Social Sciences and Law, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK.

Simon K.A. Robson, School of Marine & Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia

Katsuyuki Eguchi, Department of International Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki City, 852-8523, Japan.

Nur Aisya Petherine Jimbau, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag No. 2073, 88999, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Abstract: Scientific publishing is crucial for every researcher. ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY is ANeTs yearly journal, published with the help of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Solely dedicated to research on Asian ants, ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY is open for papers from both experienced scientists and those with little published work. Two issues have already been published, a third one is in the pipeline. The journal has been distributed to more than 20 countries and via the Internet. The project has had some teething problems, and others may lie ahead. However, more than 250 pages in the fields of ant taxonomy, ecology, distribution, behaviour and applied myrmecology have been already published and the group of authors, reviewers and editors is growing in size, experience and confidence. We thank the our chairman, the publishers, the editorial board, the reviewers and the authors for their great cooperation and invite all to comment on the last issue, with a view to improving future volumes. Here we outline some particular challenges in the editorial process and offer suggestions to potential authors and reviewers to help us streamline the process. We invite participants to the workshop at the present ANeT meeting that is particularly concerned with the handling of scientific data and the publication and review of scientific texts. 14. Community ecology of ants: Current trends & novel insightsMartin Martin Pfeiffer, Institute for Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany

Abstract: Community ecology of ants is a wide field of research that profits much from new methods that are developed in biogeography, phylogeny and statistics. New insights come up as more and more data are available from fieldwork, taxonomic collections, and DNA analyses. Location data can nowadays be easily obtained from GPS or Google Earth and may help to explain ant community structure. Mini-loggers are a cheap means to sample environmental data that clarifies ant niche patterns. Research on ant phylogeny has made exciting progress in recent years and can be used to illuminate the structure of species rich communities. The talk highlights the use of different statistical methods to include spatial, environmental, physiological and phylogenetical data into the analysis of ant communities and provides recent insights in community structure and ecology of ants.

15.www.antbase.net - the myrmecological networking platform. Third report

Martin Pfeiffer, Institute for Experimental Ecology, University of Ulm, D-89069 Ulm, Germany

Abstract: The growing demand for easy access to species information has lead to the development of www.antbase.net - the myrmecological networking platform that is backed by a large number of ANeT members and institutions. Currently, the project is in the second stage of funding from the German Research Foundation and has already accumulated a huge pile of digital resources including species keys, texts on ant ecology, ant pictures from the field, a virtual exhibition of scientific posters as well as a collection of ant videos. The heart of the virtual museum is a collection of 600 ant species that are documented on high- resolution automontage photographs showing the minutest anatomical details. In the focus of the collection are Formicidae of Borneo and Mongolia, however, thanks to the cooperation with researchers from other Asian countries, species from Thailand, India, Iran and the Philippines are also presented. Although many ANeT members have already established personal homepages on the platform, we aim at an integration of more researchers into the networking process and are looking for counterparts that like to be getting involved in an attempt to sample collection records, species lists ant literature and other sorts of ant information from all over Asia.

16. Ants in three agriculture landscapes of West Sumatra

Henny HERWINA1, YAHERWANDI2, Siti SALMAH3 Department of Biology Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 25163 1, 3 Email: [email protected], Faculty of Agriculture, Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia, 25163 2 E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract:The ground ant fauna was investigated by using pitfall traps in three agriculture landscapes of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Regular sampling was carried out monthly from May to July 2008 in Aia Batumbuak (vegetable field, simple landscape) and Sungai Sariak (paddy field, simple landscape), and from July to September 2008 in Batu Palano (mixed cultivation, complex landscape). In all, 10102 individuals, represented by 32 species in 18 genera, 12 tribes and 6 subfamilies of ants were collected during the study. Twenty one species were common in the three landscapes, five species were found only in Aia Batumbuak and six species were found only in Sungai Sariak. Myrmicinae was the most dominant subfamily in all landscapes (50.00 %), followed by Formicinae (21.88 %) and Ponerinae (18.75 %). Pheidole and Paratrechina were found as the species rich genera in this study.The number of ant species in the edge part and cultivation area was compared in each landscape. Keyword: Ground ants; Pitfall traps; Agriculture landscape; West Sumatra; Indonesia.

17. Ground dwelling ant at Tarutao National Park, southern Thailand

Suparoek Watanasit and Abdulloh Samoh,Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 90112. Email:[email protected]

Abstract:Tarutao National Park (KNNP) is the first national marine park which is located in southern part of Thailand. Its floral and fauna are very diverse, especially insects. Ants are the main group and play an important role in ecosystem of the Park. Four study sites (Pante Malaga, Talok Udang, Talok Wau and Ludoo) were chosen in the largest island of the archipelago, namly Tarutao. The aim of this study was to determine species diversity and effect of study site of ants at the Park. Three line transects of 100 m at least 20 m apart were set up in each study site. From each line transect, leaf litter and soil detritus were collected in a quadrat of 1x1 m for 3 samplings and the ant sampling was extraction by Winkler bag for 48 hours. This study was conducted in March 2008. A total number of 22 species and 13 genera belonging to 4 subfamilies were identified. The dominant subfamily was Myrmicinae (11 species, 5 genera) and Formicinae (8 species, 5 genera). The influence of study sites on species number of ant in this study indicated that study sites had no an affect on species number of ant.

Key Words: diversity, ground dwelling ant, Tarutao National Park, southern Thailand.

18. Comparative anatomy and phylogenetic implications of the skeleto-musculature of mandibles in ants (Formicidae) Yoshiaki Hashimoto(Hyogo University / Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo, Japan),Hyogo University / Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo 6chome Yayoigaoka Sanda Hyogo, Japan 669-1546. Email: [email protected]

Abstract: The skeleto-musculature design of mandibles in ants was studied, in especially about position of muscle in relation to optical lobes (neuropil connected brain and compound eyes), to provide additional information for testing hypotheses about Formicidae phylogey. Ants use their mandible for fighting, catching prey, cracking seeds, or construction of nests etc. Obviously, for all ants the large size of mandible closer-muscles is functional and adaptive significance to master a diversity of tasks. In most of ants and other hymenopterans, mandible closer-muscles pass behind optical lobeswhich arise from lateral and antrero-ventral inner-surface of the head capsule to mandible. In this case, space for reinforcing of closer- muscles is only antrero-ventral parts of head. Therefore, in the ants having this type of musculature, elongate head shapes, which accommodate the long muscle fibers, are often found. On the other hand, only in Myrmicinae and Ectatommini (Ponerinae), a part of the closer muscles pass anteriorly to optical lobes. This modification provides more area in dorsal inner-surface of head-capsule for the closer muscle attachment to these ants. Forceful mandible movements generally require more muscle fibers can be accommodated in parallel inside of head-capsule, in comparison with fast movements, which depended on long muscle fibers. Thus, the modification allows the ants to use mandible for more powerful action, such as cutting plant material. Since the radiation of the Myrmicinae was based on their ability to use plant material, the functional adaptation of mandible closer-muscles may be a key to understand evolution of the ant group. In this presentation, meaning of the changes in mandible-musculature design is discussed in term of functional and evolutional morphology. Furthermore, recent study of ant phylogeny based on molecular data suggested two monophyletic clades of ants; Formicoid clade and Poneroid clade. The formicoid clade comprises 14 of the 20 extant subfamilies and about 90% of all species. The remaining groups of extant ants (Leptanillinae and the Ponerinae except for Ectatommini and Heteroponerini) represent the poneroid clade. The present study provide morphological information to establish more firmly the phylogenetic relationships of ant groups within formicoid clade.

19. Do biodiversity of ant-mimic spiders associate with ant biodiversity? canopyground comparisons within Bornean tropical forest Y. Hashimoto (Hyogo Univ.), T. Endo (Kobe College) & T. Ichioka (Kyoto Univ.),Hyogo University / Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo 6chome Yayoigaoka Sanda Hyogo, Japan 669-1546. Email: [email protected]

Abstract:Ant-mimicry has evolved in numerous families of spiders, such as, non-web- weaving spiders, Salticidae, Corinnidae etc. In the tropics, salticids tend to be dominant spiders and ants tend to be dominant and high-biodiversity insects. The present study examined how ant biodiversity reflects on biodiversity of ant-mimic spider in morphology and species-diversity in Bornean tropical forests. In our previous studies on ground layer of the tropical forests, we found 11 mimic-types in 26 species of 8 genera, two families of ant- mimic spiders. Although high-diversity on ant-mimic spider was found in the ground layer, 60% of ant-mimic spider collected was showed poor ant-mimicry (i.e. some similarity to several different species of ant model). Among vertical structure of tropical forest, the ant assemblage of the ground layer is most diverse, because both ground and arboreal antsappear in the layer. A poorer mimic, in comparison with good mimic (specific resemblance to a model), will achieve a high degree of protection in place where many different model species occur together (multimodel hypothesis). We, therefore, considered that high species and morphological diversity of ant-mimic spiders in the ground layer is reflected to high species- diversity of ant in the layer. Furthermore, we predict that low diversity of species and high proportion of good mimic of ant-mimic spider is found in place with low diversity of ant. In top of canopy in tropical forest, some few ants, such as Crematogaster and Camponoutus, trend to be dominant and ant diversity is lower than that in the ground layer. In the present study, we examine diversity of ant and ant-mimic spider in canopy layer using canopy crane to test our hypothesis. The implications of the results for association with biodiversity of ants and ant-mimic spiders are then discussed.

20.Diurnal and seasonal activity patterns in Acrobat ant genus Crematogaster in Babolsar, Iran

Nassim Vakhide ,Malihe akbarzade. Omid paknia Student of biology, faculty of sciences, Gorgan university of Agricultural sciences and natural Resources

Abstract: Ants are one of the most important taxon in ecology. There are about 12000 species of ants. Genus Crematogaster is ubiquitous and ecologically diverse, which is characterized by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster and their heads are round. Acrobat ants will often hold their abdomens above their bodies when they are disturbed. In this study the activity patterns were related to temperature, humidity, and (daily, seasonal and annual) circadian of one colony of Crematogaster have been investigated. This colony had been located on the Citrus Plant in a less disturbed area in Babolsar, the Caspian Sea coasts. Observations below were conducted during 4 seasons: Autumn and winter, 2006, spring and summer, 2007. The input and output of the ants from colony counted for 15 min every 2 hours twice a month as we recorded temperature and humidity in situe. We could totally obtain 288 observations. Activity of ants was significant for seasonal (t= - 13.98, P< 0.001) and not significant for dial (t= 0.169, P= 0.866). Analysis of variance showed that seasonal and temperature effects are significant (F= 7.96 and 10.26, respectively for season and temperature P < 0.001) time and humidity are not significant (F>0.8, P> 0.5). Correlation between input and season (r= 0.718 , P <0.001) , temperature (r= 0.706 , P <0.001), humidity (r= -0.14 , P < 0.05) were significant multiple liner (MLR) regression estimated activity of ant with studied factor with significant accuracy ( F = 120 , P<0.0001) With high influence of the factors like season and especially temperature . We conclude that activity patterns of ants are affected by temperature and seasonal variations. The most important point about this genus is that it goes winter-sleeping when it is situated in a climate condition like Babolsar.

Keywords: Ant, Activity pattern, Acrobat ant, Crematogaster, Babolsar

21.Ground dwelling ant at Tarutao National Park, Southern ThailandSuparoek Watanasit and Abdulloh Samoh,Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat yai, Songkhla, Thailand, 90112

Abstract: Tarutao National Park (KNNP) is the first national marine park which is located in southern part of Thailand. Its floral and fauna are very diverse, especially insects. Ants are the main group and play an important role in ecosystem of the Park. Four study sites (Pante Malaga, Talok Udang, Talok Wau and Ludoo) were chosen in the largest island of the archipelago, namly Tarutao. The aim of this study was to determine species diversity and effect of study site of ants at the Park. Three line transects of 100 m at least 20 m apart were set up in each study site. From each line transect, leaf litter and soil detritus were collected in a quadrat of 1x1 m for 3 samplings and the ant sampling was extraction by Winkler bag for 48 hours. This study was conducted in March 2008. A total number of 22 species and 13 genera belonging to 4 subfamilies were identified. The dominant subfamily was Myrmicinae (11 species, 5 genera) and Formicinae (8 species, 5 genera). The influence of study sites on species number of ant in this study indicated that study sites had no an affect on species number of ant.

Key Words: diversity, ground dwelling ant, Tarutao National Park, southern Thailand

22. DIVERSITY, SEASONAL ABUNDANCE AND ALTITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION OF LEAF LITTER ANTS (: FORMICIDAE) IN PALANI HILLS, WESTERN GHATS, TAMIL NADU, INDIA Balasubramanian. C , Murugan. R and P.VinayagaMoorthiDepartment of Zoology, Thiagarajar College, Madurai, TamilNadu.

Email:[email protected]

Abstract:The ant fauna was surveyed in ten sites of Palani hills, Western Ghats. The study sites were chosen on the basis of differences in elevational gradients and floral diversity. Totally 43 species, 4,179 individuals of ants belonging to six subfamilies were collected during the study period. The diversity indices , H, N1, N2 and evenness were calculated for all the ten localities in six months period. The total number of ants collected in all places of study sites differ significantly and maximum number of individuals was obtained in Oothu (911) and minimum number of individuals was recorded at Lakeview (14). The maximum diversity and number of subfamilies of ants were noticed in order mid of elevational sites Viz., Dumdum Parai, Vazhagiri and Oothu respectively. The species richness and abundance was influenced by elevation, rainfall, temperature and pH. This study supports the Rapoport`s rule in tropical climatic conditions.

KeyWords: Leaf litter ants, ants biodiversity, Palani hills, Western Ghats, elevation gradients, Rapoport`s rule.

23.The army ant Aenictus silvestrii and its related species in Southeast Asia, with a description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aenictinae)

Weeyawat JAITRONG1.2 and Seiki YAMANE1

1Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan

2Thailand Natural history Museum, National Science Museum, Technopolis, Khlong5, khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120 Thailand

Abstract: Aenictus silvestrii and its related species are studied based on the materials mainly deposited in SKY collection at Kagoshima University (Japan), and Thailand Natural History Museum of the National Science Museum. The syntypes or paratypes of the two named species were examined. Three species treated here (A. jarujini sp. nov., A. latifemoratus and A. silvestrii ) share the following character conditions: reduced numbers of antennal segments (8-9), scape somewhat flattened, broadened apically and strongly grooved below, legs with apical half of tibia weakly and of femur strongly broadened and somewhat flattened, and some others. A. jarujini is closely related to A. latifemoratus in having the macropunctures on the head and mesosoma, but these are easily distinguished rom each other by the shape of the petiolar node (node posteriorly margined with a rim in A. jarujini, but without a distinct rim in A. latifemoratus). A. silvestrii is very unique in having the head and mesosoma with regularly running rugae which are absent in the other species, but it has the same number of antennal segments (9) as has A. jarujini. A. latifemoratus and A. silvestrii are adapted to the rainforest, while A. jarujini was collected in the sparse forest with a distinct dry season. A. latifemoratus is new to Java and Borneo, while A. silvestrii is recorded for the first time from Borneo.

Key Words: Army ants, Aenictus jarujini sp. nov., taxonomy, Southeast Asia.

24.Ant Taxonomy : Trends and Transformations

Himender Bharti, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email: [email protected] Web: www.antdiversityindia.com

Abstract :The perception of Linnaean science which was related with describing and classifying organisms changed course with appearance of theory of natural selection by Wallace and Darwin, then the taxonomists started thinking about evolutionary relationships. Thus the taxonomy gained its importance as a major biological science. The diversity of life on this planet, a critical evaluation of which being carried out; cannot be worked without the age old taxonomic science. Ants with major impact on ecosystem functioning, with about 14,000 species known, still more to be discovered or being categorised are dealt by a handful of dedicated taxonomists. Ant taxonomy made its appearance with likes of Forel, Emery, Smith, and Bingham to mention a few; relied on handful of taxonomic characters. Some of their judgements/inferences still stand true, but with appearance of modern tools, better collection methods, ant taxonomy has undergone a transformation. The taxonomic characters used earlier, are supplemented by measurement indices, numerical analysis and other computational methods. Such type of integrated approach (currently advocated by Bolton, Seifert and others) is required to discriminate cryptic species. Probably we ought to strengthen the morpho-taxonomy instead of shifting to much hyped and much fancied DNA bar coding techniques.

Key Words: Ant taxonomy, Trends, Transformations.

25.Importance of elevational gradient studies on Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Himalaya

Himender Bharti and Yash Paul Sharma, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email: [email protected] Web: www.antdiversityindia.com

Abstract :Elevational gradient studies being used from the time Linnaeus, play an important role in ecology. Keeping in view the degraded Himalayan ecology, elevational gradient studies have been carried out from Jammu and Kashmir region of North-west Himalaya. Ant fauna have been evaluated from an altitude of 1000mtrs, 2000mtrs, 3000mtrs and 4000mtrs. Preliminary observations reveal that there is an increase in ant fauna with increase in altitude till mid elevation and then decrease with further increase. Subfamily Myrmicinae is found to be abundant followed by Formicinae at all the elevations.

Key Words: Ants, Elevational gradients, Himalaya.

26.Preliminary Observations on High Altitude Ant Genera from Himalaya

Himender Bharti and Irfan Gul, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email: [email protected] Web: www.antdiversityindia.com

Abstract:High altitude Himalayan ant genera Myrmica, Formica, Aphaenogaster, Temnothorax, Lasius and Pseudolasius are being investigated. Genus Myrmica have been reported from 4200mtrs above msl in North-west Himalaya. Genus Formica have been observed to show temporary parasitism. Species complexes are being worked out in Temnothorax and Lasius. The taxonomy of high altitude genera needs critical evaluation as these show altogether different behavioural patterns and adaptations to high altitude. So the present study is aimed to categorize the diversity and to streamline the taxonomy of these taxa.

Key Words: Temnothorax, Pseudolasius, Myrmica, Lasius, Formica. 27.Preliminary Observations on Diversity of Dolichoderinae, Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Lower Shivalik Range of North- west Himalaya

Himender Bharti and Rakesh Kumar, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email: [email protected] Web: www.antdiversityindia.com

Abstract:Subfamilies Dolichoderinae, Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae are being collected from lower Shivalik range of North-west Himalaya. Various collection methods (Pitfall traps, Winklers, Honey bait, Stick beating, Soil core and Hand collection) are being used. Out of these Pitfall trap is found to be effective than Winklers followed by Stick beating. The fauna pertaining to above listed subfamilies, have been collected in different seasons to work out seasonal abundance and species composition. Moreover, the fauna is also being collected from disturbed, semi disturbed and undisturbed zones of Shivalik. After assigning the fauna to different functional groups of ants, present study would provide an insight into degrading ecosystem of Shivalik range of Himalaya.

Key Words: Dolichoderinae, Myrmicinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, abundance, species composition, Shivalik range.

28.Preliminary observations on Diversity of Aenictinae, Cerapachyinae, Dorylinae, Formicinae and Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Lower Shivalik range of North-west Himalaya

Himender Bharti and Aijaz Ahmad Wachkoo, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email: [email protected] Web: www.antdiversityindia.com

Abstract:Shivalik range of Himalaya is the youngest mountain range. Its ecology is quite diverse with mixture of various types of elements. Ant fauna of Shivalik range represents Malayan, Afrotropical, Mediterranean, Central Asian and Temperate elements. Some of the tramp species which have invaded the Shivalik were collected using Winklers, pitfall traps, honey bait, hand collection, stick beating and soil core methods. For the better assessment of species composition, the area under study has been categorised into undisturbed, semi disturbed and disturbed zones. The fauna of each zone is being worked out. Seasonal abundance of ants from this range is also being taken into account. Preliminary observations suggest that subfamily Formicinae is more abundant while Cerapachyinae is less abundant.

Key Words: Aenictinae, Cerapachyinae, Dorylinae, Formicinae,Ponerinae, abundance, species composition, Shivalik range.

29.Hymenoptera: An Overview

M.S. Saini, Department of Zoology, Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India-147002. Email:[email protected]

Abstract:Hymenoptera is quite an extensive order of insects that contains 91 families and1,98,000 species. With such diversity and advanced social behaviour the morphological structures have undergone different modifications for better adaptations. These modifications play an important role in taxonomy of Hymenoptera. The plesiomorphic, apomorphic and synapomorphic features carried/evolved in various groups of Hymenoptera play a very sound role in taxonomy. The knowledge about appearance or evolution of these features is required to undertake a holistic view regarding diversity and taxonomy of this order. Thus, this gains more importance in the sense that one can relate a particular group of ones choice with allied, primitive or advanced group of Hymenoptera.

Key Words: Hymenoptera, morphology, taxonomy, derived features.