ANT FAUNA (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) OF QUETTA, BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Hina Ali Ahmed, Sabina Noor, Imran Ali Sani, Safoora Kanwal, Shereen Khudaidad, Masooma Khawar

Abstract


The ant fauna of Quetta, Northern Pakistan was studied using hand
collected samples. A total of 1865 individuals were sampled comprising
of seven species belonging to three subfamilies. A preliminary checklist
of the ant species collected from Quetta city is presented. The most
common subfamily observed was Myrmicinae with an abundance
value of 66.8% and the most frequent species encountered was the
Myrmicine Pharoah Ant, Monomorium pharaonis (60%). The least
common species encountered were Solenopsis invicta (Fire ant)
and Tetramorium sessile (Pavement ant), also belonging to the
subfamilyMyrmicinae with an abundance value of 3.2% and 3%,
respectively. The subfamilies Formicinae (3 species) and
Dolichoderinae (1 species) were found to be moderately common
with abundance values of 18% and 15%, respectively.
Keywords: Hymenoptera, Formicidae, species, outdoor, indoor.


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