ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY Volume 7, 171 – 174, 2015 ISSN 1985-1944 © BRIAN L. FISHER, BENOIT GUÉNARD AND SIMON ROBSON Borneo, fANTastique! BRIAN L. FISHER1, BENOIT GUÉNARD2,3* AND SIMON ROBSON4 1Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California 94118, U.S.A. 2Okinawa Institute of Sciences and Technology, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna, Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture 904-0495, Japan. 3School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong. 4Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, College of Marine & Environmental Science, James Cook University Queensland 4811, Australia. *Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected] Imagine that as a young student of myrmecology all the wonders collected in the forest as well you could be given the opportunity to learn and as the generous happy hours, some 20 attendees talk about ants for ten full days; collect night decided to join ANeT to support our common and day in luxuriant tropical forests almost endeavour of obtaining a better understanding of free of mosquitoes but not of leeches; attend Asian ants! dynamic lectures on the latest developments Borneo hosts 102 genera of ants in ant taxonomy, systematics, biogeography, (Guénard et al. 2014), which left plenty of ecology, and behaviour of ants; and finally meet opportunities for students to get a taste of the with colleagues who are as passionate about ants island’s impressive ant biodiversity. With a as you are. Sound like a dream? In fact, this was workforce of nearly 45 ant biologists, among the reality for 30 students and 17 instructors who them some of the most skilled myrmecologists attended the 14th edition of Ant Course. The in the world, a plethora of ants were collected. course was held this year (2014) from July 20th It will probably require many years to sort all to July 31th in Maliau Basin, Sabah, in the core of the newly collected material to species level, of Borneo. Attendees hailed from 20 countries and even more time before those individuals and the six continents. Organizer Brian Fisher star in new publications and are showcased on (California Academy of Sciences), with the Antweb.org. However, a list of 88 genera can support of Arthur Chung (Sabah Biodiversity already be presented here; this broad range of Centre), Bakhtiar Yayha (Institute for Tropical sampled biodiversity reflects attendees’ intense Biology and Conservation, University of collection effort. As a result, two genera were Malaysia) and Simon Robson (Centre for Tropical recorded for the first time (Pfeiffer et al. 2011, Biodiversity & Climate Change, James Cook Guénard et al. 2014) in Borneo: Rhopalothrix and University), decided to explore the rich ant fauna Tyrannomyrmex. of Borneo. The occasion marked the course’s Despite the fact that instructors and second run in Asia; Ant Course 2010 was held in students alike beat the bushes and checked Danum Valley, Sabah. their tuna-baited traps with diligent regularity, a No fewer than six members of the few genera remain unknown to the Ant Course ANeT community were invited to participate crew. In a way, these omissions are extremely in the course as instructors (Table 1); all shared fortunate, as they provide incentives for Ant their knowledge on Asian ants, demonstrating Course to return to Borneo for a third time. Given the growing importance of the ANeT community the new field station facilities being built at the in this part of the world. Furthermore, the Imbak Canyon Conservation Area, it would be convincing efforts of Simon Robson, aided by with great excitement and anticipation that course 172 Brian L. Fisher, Benoit Guénard & Simon Robson Fig. 1. Photo of the 2014 Antcourse participants in Maliau Basin Conservation Area. participants would flock to the forests of Borneo Mickal Houadria Germany for another chance to learn about the wide world Cong Liu Japan of ants. Sharon Marsden Australia Brett Morgan United States Table 1. List of students and instructors participating Musa Muchtar Malaysia to the AntCourse 2014. Members of ANeT invited as Nichola Plowman Czech Republic instructors are marked with an *. Rodolfo Probst Brazil Jayanthi Puniamoorthy Singapore Students Country Thibault Ramage France Mohd Afifi Malaysia Jignasha Rana United States Patrick Belenky United States Hasrin Rossleykho Malaysia Doug Booher United States Tze Min Teo Malaysia Ian Butler United States Fiona Thomson New Zealand Anoop Das India Jiří Tůma Czech Republic Dario D’Eustacchio Italy Fabian Westermann New Zealand Adam Devenish United Kingdom Yannick Wurm England Marie Madeleine Dieng Senegal Mika Yasuda China Ingrid Fetter Pruneda United States Mohd Afif Zakaria Malaysia Thomas Gabel United States Instructors Country Timothy Golden United States Himender Bharti* India Muhammad Shafiq Hamdin Malaysia Arthur Chung* Malaysia Borneo, fANTastique! 173 Flavia Esteves United States Myrmoteras Brian Fisher United States Nylanderia Dave General Philippines Oecophylla Benoit Guénard* Japan Paraparatrechina Roberto Keller Portugal Plagiolepis Laurent Keller Switzerland Polyrhachis Jack Longino United States Pseudolasius Corrie Moreau United States Leptanillinae Protanilla Christian Peeters* France Myrmicinae Acanthomyrmex Simon Robson* Australia Aphaenogaster Eli Sarnat United States Calyptomyrmex Steve Shattuck Australia Cardiocondyla Andy Suarez United States Carebara Walter Tschinkel United States Cataulacus Phil Ward United States Crematogaster Bakhtiar Yahya* Malaysia Dacetinops Dilobocondyla Epelysidris Table 2. Preliminary List of Genera collected in Maliau Eurhopalothrix Basin Conservation area. * represents new generic record for Borneo island. Gauromyrmex Liomyrmex Subfamily Genus Lophomyrmex Amblyoponinae Myopopone Lordomyrma Mystrium Mayriella Prionopelta Meranoplus Stigmatomma Monomorium Dolichoderinae Chronoxenus Myrmecina Dolichoderus Myrmicaria Iridomyrmex Paratopula Loweriella Pheidole Philidris Pristomyrmex Tapinoma Proatta Technomyrmex Recurvidris Dorylinae Aenictus Rhopalomastix Cerapachys Rhopalothrix* Dorylus Solenopsis Ectatomminae Gnamptogenys Strumigenys Formicinae Acropyga Syllophopsis Anoplolepis Tetramorium Camponotus Tyrannomyrmex* Cladomyrma Vollenhovia Echinopla Vombisidris Euprenolepis Ponerinae Anochetus Gesomyrmex Brachyponera 174 Brian L. Fisher, Benoit Guénard & Simon Robson Buniapone ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Centromyrmex The authors would like to thank Prof. E.O. Wilson Cryptopone for his continued guidance and support from the Diacamma Arthur Lawrence Green Memorial Fund, Museum Ectomomyrmex of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. Euponera The authors would like to honor the Harpegnathos memory of Dario D’Eustacchio, student at the Hypoponera Antcourse who tragically passed away on October Leptogenys 14th 2014. He will be sincerely missed. Mesoponera Myopias REFERENCES Odontomachus Odontoponera Guénard B, Weiser MD and Dunn RR, 2014. Ant Parvaponera genera of the World. Available from http:// Platythyrea robdunnlab.com/antgenera/ Pfeiffer M, Mezger D, Hosoichi S, Yahya BE and Ponera Kohout RJ, 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo Pseudoneoponera (Insecta: Hymenoptera): A preliminary Pseudoponera species list. Asian Myrmecology 4: 9 – 58. Proceratiinae Discothyrea Probolomyrmex Proceratium Pseudomyrmecinae Tetraponera ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY A Journal of the International Network for the Study of Asian Ants Communicating Editor: Adam L. Cronin.