Myrmica Specioides Bondroit: a New Invasive Ant Species in the USA?
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Biol Invasions (2009) 11:253–256 DOI 10.1007/s10530-008-9229-y ORIGINAL PAPER Myrmica specioides Bondroit: a new invasive ant species in the USA? Gunther Jansen Æ Alexander Radchenko Received: 13 December 2007 / Accepted: 12 February 2008 / Published online: 27 February 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008 Abstract Ants are among the most successful range (Chapman et al. 2007; Holway et al. 2002; invasive species. The establishment of the infamous Kappes et al. 2007; Neira et al. 2007; Wilson et al. red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta (Fabricius) 1992). Lowe et al. (2004) list five ant species among has caused a considerable amount of damage to the 100 most successful invaders. Many introduced both the economy and the native ecosystem of the ants are able to spread rapidly by colony budding, and Southern United States. We report the first record of a their social, cooperative behavior enables them to newly introduced ant species, Myrmica specioides dominate ecosystems (Wilson 1971). In polygynous Bondroit, to the state of Washington. It possesses the colonies, reduced intraspecific aggression facilitates characteristics of a potential pest ant: high aggres- the establishment of supercolonies, a widely spread siveness, polygyny, and the tendency to reach high network of interconnected nests. Because individuals local abundances. This early record might facilitate within these supercolonies avoid the costs associated the control of introduced populations before they can with intercolonial competition and territoriality, they develop into a genuine nuisance. can invest more resources into their growth, foraging capability and defense (Zakharov 1972; Holway et al. Keywords Invasive species Á Pest Á 1998). These factors can make ants very successful, Ants Á Myrmica Á Formicidae Á America and dangerous, invasives. With an annual inflicted damage estimated at $1 billion per year (Pimentel et al. 2000), the infamous red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formi- cidae), is one of the major pest ants in North America. A plethora of studies have documented the devastat- Direct competition and predation have resulted in a ing impact of invasive species on their introduced drastic reduction of the population numbers of native species, ranging from indigenous insect species to G. Jansen (&) birds (Giuliano 1996) and lizards (Montgomery Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, 1996). Solenopsis build large mounds that can University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland destroy crop roots, and at high densities they even e-mail: gunther.jansen@helsinki.fi threaten vertebrates with their vicious, painful sting (Allen et al. 2004). A. Radchenko Recently, Groden et al. (2005) described the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, 64, Wilcza Str., 00-679 Warsaw, Poland colonization of the Eastern coast of Maine by another e-mail: [email protected] myrmicine ant, Myrmica rubra (L.) (Hymenoptera: 123 254 G. Jansen, A. Radchenko Formicidae). This species shows the characteristics of found in the soil and tussocks of a dry garden a typical invasive ant, and it is rapidly reaching high meadow in Olympia, Washington, USA (47°08, densities in the eastern US and Canada, where it has 4830 N 122°58, 5790 W, 116 ft). Below we provide reportedly interacted negatively with humans. Unfor- some taxonomic and ecological characteristics of this tunately, many invasive species remain undetected species that might assist in the identification and until they become too large a problem to handle. control of this introduced species before it becomes a Once their populations have become completely pest. established, it is often extremely difficult to imple- M. specioides is originally described from Belgium ment effective control measures. Therefore, the (Bondroit 1918) and is distributed in Central and finding of a newly introduced ant species can be of Southern Europe, the southern part of Eastern great importance for the conservation of the native Europe, in Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Iran, and environment and its species, and demands a fast and Turkmenistan. It belongs to the scabrinodis species- adequate response to prevent its spread and potential group of Myrmica (Radchenko 1994; Radchenko and harm. Elmes 2004). This ant species can easily be differ- One more introduced ant species, Myrmica spec- entiated from all native American Myrmica species. ioides Bondroit (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), was The antennal scape of M. specioides is angularly encountered by one of the co-authors of this paper curved at the base, and has a horizontal ridge or (GJ) during his field investigation of the American narrow lobe, running along its dorsal plane (see fauna of the genus Myrmica. Several colonies were Fig. 1b, c). It could only be confused with the very Fig. 1 Myrmica specioides, lectotype worker; (a) head, dorsal view; (b) antennal scape, lateral view; (c) antennal scape, dorsal view; (d) mesosoma and waist, lateral view (scale bars: 1 mm) 123 A new invasive ant species in the USA 255 common West Palaearctic M. scabrinodis Nylander, altered environment strongly suggests that it can but differs by the relatively wide frons, the less survive in close proximity to human settlement, extended frontal lobes, fairly short propodeal spines, where negative interactions can be most easily felt. and by the slightly rounded petiolar node dorsum which lacks a well marked dorsal plate (Fig. 1a, d). Acknowledgements This work was supported by the The males of M. specioides have a short antennal Academy of Finland, LUOVA (The Finnish Graduate School in Wildlife Biology, Conservation and Management) travel scape, and much shorter standing hairs on the tibiae grants and SYNTHESYS (European Union-funded Integrated than in M. scabrinodis (see also Seifert 1988, 2002; Infrastructure Initiative grant) (GJ), the grants of the Ministry Radchenko et al. 1997; Czechowski et al. 2002). of Education and Sciences of Poland, No. 2P04C 064 29 (AR), M. specioides is one of the most thermophilous and by the basic scientific programs of our Institutions. We thank John T. Longino for his encouragement and for granting species of the genus in Central Europe, where it access to his garden. mainly inhabits open areas with scanty and low herbaceous vegetation. In the southern parts of its distributional area it prefers relatively cool, shady References habitats. It often builds inconspicuous nests in the ground with one or a few simple entrance holes, but Allen CR, Epperson DM, Garmestani AS (2004) Red imported can also nest in dead wood. Although M. specioides fire ant impacts on wildlife: a decade of research. Am does not belong to the most common Palaearctic Midl Nat 152(1):88–103 Myrmica species, it can locally reach high population Atanasov N, Dlussky GM (1992) The fauna of Bulgaria, 22. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. BAN, Sofia (in Bulgarian) densities. Colony size hardly exceeds a thousand Buren WF, Allen GE, Whitcomb WH, Lennartz FE, Williams individuals in most cases. Usually there are one or RN (1974) Zoogeography of the imported fire ants. J NY several queens in the nest, but clearly polygynous Entomol Soc 82:113–124 colonies have been found as well (Dlussky et al. Chapman JW, Carlton JT, Bellinger MR, Blakeslee AMH (2007) Premature refutation of a human-mediated marine 1990; Atanasov and Dlussky 1992; Seifert 1988, species introduction: the case history of the marine snail 1996; Czechowski et al. 2002). Littorina littorea in the Northwestern Atlantic. Biol M. specioides are very aggressive, carnivorous Invasions 9(8):995–1008 ants. They prey on various invertebrates, including Czechowski W, Radchenko A, Czechowska W (2002) The ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Poland. MIZ, Warsaw ants of other species, e.g., on workers and brood of Dlussky GM, Soyunov OS, Zabelin SI (1990) The ants of their frequent neighbors, Lasius flavus (Fabricius). Turkmenistan. Ylym, Ashkhabad (in Russian) They have been recorded ascending herbaceous Giuliano WM (1996) Effects of red imported fire ants on plants to collect nectar from the inflorescence northern bobwhite chicks. J Wildl Manage 60:309–313 Groden E, Drummond FA, Garnas J, Francoeur A (2005) and honeydew from aphids (Czechowski et al. Distribution of an invasive ant, Myrmica rubra (Hyme- 2002). Their nuptial flight occurs in August and noptera: Formicidae), in Maine. J Econ Entomol 98(6): September. 1774–1784 In Europe, M. specioides has not been recorded as Holway DA (1998) Effect of Argentine ant invasions on ground-dwelling arthropods in northern California ripar- a pest species. The same applies to M. rubra and ian woodlands. Oecologia 116:252–258 even Solenopsis invicta, which only became invasive Holway DA, Lach L, Suarez AV, Tsutsui ND, Case TJ (2002) upon arrival in a new environment without natural The ecological causes and consequences of ant invasions. enemies (Groden et al. 2005; Buren et al. 1974). Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:81–233 Kappes H, Lay R, Topp W (2007) Changes in different trophic Most of the introduced M. rubra populations reach levels of litter-dwelling macrofauna associated with giant much higher densities than in their native ranges knotweed invasion. Ecosystems 10(5):734–744 (Groden et al. 2005). Lowe S, Browne M, Boudjelas S, De Poorter M (2004) 100 of Analogously, M. specioides may increase its the World’s worst invasive alien species: a selection from the global invasive species database. Invasive Species aggressiveness, colony size and population density Specialist Group, Gland in a habitat that lacks natural enemies. It shares with Montgomery WB (1996) Predation by the fire ant, Solenopsis M. rubra some of the traits that make a successful ant invicta, on the three-toed box turtle, Terrapene carolina invasive. M. specioides can form polygynous colo- triunguis. Bull Chicago Herpetol Soc 31:105–106 Neira C, Levin LA, Grosholz ED, Mendoza G (2007) Influence nies, is highly aggressive and can reach high local of invasive Spartina growth stages on associated macro- abundance. The fact that it has been found in a human faunal communities.