Ants of North Carolina (species list) [North Carolina Pest Ants] [North Carolina Exotic Ants]
Joe MacGown
The following list of ant species includes 186 species. This species is based on literature records, the Ants of North Carolina web site (Guénard, Sanders, and Dunn) personal communication with various ant researchers, preliminary results of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), and from specimens in the the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM). Although various researchers have studied the ants of North Carolina, the most comphrehensive work was done by Carter (1962), with future works mostly building on his initial research. The most recent work has culminated in the development of the Ants of North Carolina web site. This site includes lists of species, physiographic regions the ants were collected from, and wonderful photos of many of the species in the wild.
Clicking on a species name will lead to a page with further information and photographs of that species. Although species pages are at various levels of progress, most pages now have representative photographs of at least workers of the species. In addition to the photographs of ants taken by Joe MacGown at the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM), many photos are used, with permission, from AntWeb, a web site about ants of the world with amazing photos. Another site with photographs of ants is "Discover Life." The Discover Life site provides a list of North American ants with photos at "Kinds of Ants , Ants of North America Page". On each individual MEM species page, a link is provided (at the bottom of the page) for that species on both the AntWeb site and the Discover Life ant site. Additionally, many of the species found in this list can be identified using the identification keys found on this web site.
The list presented is arranged by subfamily, tribe, and genus according to Bolton (2014). For species that are introduced or considered to be pest species, that designation is given following the species name. For species whose origin is uncertain, the word "introduced" is followed by the "?" symbol. Similarly, for questionable pest species, the word "pest" is followed by the "?" symbol. Pest species include species that are considered to be serious pests, in that they may cause significant damage or health problems, to mild, nuisance pests.
Family Formicidae
Subfamily Dolichoderinae
Tribe Dolichoderini
Dolichoderus mariae Forel [Carter, 1962; MacKay, 1993; Guénard et al., 2008]
Dolichoderus plagiatus (Mayr) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Dolichoderus pustulatus Mayr [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Dolichoderus taschenbergi (Mayr) [Carter, 196; Guénard et al., 20082]
Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager) [Peck et al., 1998; Guénard et al., 2008]
Dorymyrmex grandulus (Forel) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Dorymyrmex smithi Cole [Peck et al., 1998-reported as Conomyrma medeis; Guénard et al., 2008]
Forelius mccooki (McCook) [MEM]
Forelius pruinosus (Roger) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008] ]
Linepithema humile (Mayr) (introduced, pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) (introduced, pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Tapinoma sessile (Say) (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Tapinoma sp. A. (Guénard et al. 2012)
Technomyrmex difficilis Forel (introduced, pest-previously misidentified as T. albipes (Smith), see Wetterer, 2008) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Subfamily Formicinae
Tribe Lasiini
Lasius americanus Emery [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008;Smith, 1979]
Lasius brevicornis Emery [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius claviger (Roger) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius interjectus (Mayr) [MEM; Carter, 1962]
Lasius latipes (Walsh) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius murphyi (Forel) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius nearcticus Wheeler [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008; Smith, 1979]
Lasius neoniger Emery [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius pallitarsis (Provancher) [Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius plumopilosus Buren [Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius pubescens Buren [Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius speculiventris Emery [Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius subglaber (Emery) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Lasius aphidicola (Walsh) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Nylanderia arenivaga (Wheeler) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Nylanderia concinna (Trager) [Trager, 1984; Guénard et al., 2008]
Nylanderia faisonensis (Forel) [MEM; Peck et al., 1998; Trager, 1984; Guénard et al., 2008]
Nylanderia parvula (Mayr) [Carter, 1962; Trager, 1984; Guénard et al., 2008]
Nylanderia vividula (Nylander) (introduced?, pest) [MEM; Trager, 1984]
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) (introduced, pest)
Prenolepis imparis (Say) (pest?) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Tribe Plagiolepidini
Brachymyrmex depilis Emery [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr (introduced, pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Tribe Camponotini
Camponotus americanus Mayr (pest) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus caryae (Fitch) (pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus chromaiodes Bolton (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus decipiens Emery (pest) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus floridanus (Buckley) (pest) [Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus nearcticus Emery (pest) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus snellingi Bolton (pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus socius Roger (pest) [Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Camponotus subbarbatus Emery (pest) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Colobopsis impressa Roger [Carter, 1962-reported as C. pylartes; Guénard et al., 2008]
Colobopsis mississippiensis (Smith) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Colobopsis obliqua (Smith) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Tribe Formicini
Formica argentea Wheeler [Peck et al., 1998]
Formica aserva Forel [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica biophilica Trager [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica difficilis Emery [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica dolosa Buren [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica exsectoides Forel [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica fusca Linnaeus ??? [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica incerta Buren [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica integra Nylander [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica neogagates Emery [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica obscuriventris Mayr [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica pallidefulva Latreille [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica pergandei Emery [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica postoculata Kennedy and Dennis [Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica rubicunda Emery [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica subintegra Wheeler [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Formica subsericea Say [MEM; Guénard et al., 2008]
Polyergus longicornis Smith [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Trager, 2013]
Polyergus lucidus Mayr [Trager 2013]
Polyergus ruber Trager ( [Trager 2013]
Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae
Tribe Pseudomyrmecini
Pseudomyrmex ejectus (Smith) (pest?) [Carter, 1962-reported as P. brunnea; Guénard et al., 2008; Guernard et al. 2012]
Pseudomyrmex pallidus (Smith) (pest?) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008; Guernard et al. 2012]
Subfamily Dorylinae
Neivamyrmex carolinensis (Emery) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Neivamyrmex opacithorax (Emery) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Neivamyrmex texanus Watkins [Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Subfamily Amblyoponinae
Tribe Amblyoponini
Stigmatomma pallipes (Haldeman) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Stigmatomma trigonignathum (Brown) [Brown 1949]
Subfamily Ponerinae
Tribe Ponerini
Brachyponera chinensis (Emery) (introduced, pest) [MEM; Guénard et al., 2008]
Cryptopone gilva (Roger)[Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Hypoponera opacior (Forel) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger) (Guernard et al. 2012)
Ponera exotica Smith [Carter, 1962; Guernard et al. 2012]
Ponera pennsylvanica Buckley [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Subfamily Proceratiinae
Tribe Proceratiini
Discothyrea testacea Roger [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008; Guernard et al. 2012]
Proceratium crassicorne Emery [Guernard et al. 2012]
Proceratium croceum (Roger) [Baroni Urbani and de Andrade, 2003;Carter, 1962]
Proceratium pergandei (Emery) [Baroni Urbani and de Andrade, 2003; Carter, 1962]
Proceratium silaceum Roger [MEM; Baroni Urbani and de Andrade, 2003; Carter, 1962]
Subfamily Myrmicinae
Tribe Myrmicini
Myrmica americana Weber [Smith, 1979]
Myrmica fracticornis Forel [Carter, 1962]
Myrmica incompleta Provancher [Peck et al., 1998]
Myrmica latifrons Starcke [MEM; ATBI; Carter, 1962-reported as M. emeryana]
Myrmica pinetorum Wheeler [ATBI; Carter, 1962]
Myrmica punctiventris Roger [MEM; Carter, 1962]
Myrmica spatulata Smith [ATBI; Guernard et al. 2012]
Myrmica n. sp. [; Guernard et al. 2012]
Tribe Pogonomymecini
Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard2012]
Tribe Stenammini
Aphaenogaster ashmeadi Emery [Carter, 1962]
Aphaenogaster carolinensis Wheeler [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster flemingi Smith [Carter, 1962]
Aphaenogaster floridana Smith [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster fulva Roger [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster lamellidens Mayr [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster mariae Forel [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster picea (Wheeler) [MEM; Carter, 1962]
Aphaenogaster rudis Enzmann [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (Mayr) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Aphaenogaster treatae Forel [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Stenamma brevicorne (Mayr) [ATBI]
Stenamma diecki Emery [MEM; Smith, 1957; Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979]
Stenamma foveolocephalum Smith Dubois and Davis, 1998]
Stenamma impar Forel [Carter, 1962]
Stenamma meridionale Smith [Carter, 1962]
Stenamma schmittii Wheeler[MEM; Carter, 1962]
Tribe Solenopsidini
Monomorium minimum (Buckley) (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962]
Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus) (introduced, pest) [Carter, 1962]
Monomorium viridum Brown [Guénard et al., 2008]
Solenopsis carolinensis Forel [Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) [Ahlstrom, 1995] (pest)
Solenopsis globularia Creighton [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2012]
Solenopsis invicta Buren (introduced, pest) [Peck et al., 1998; Guénard et al., 2008]
Solenopsis molesta (Say) (pest) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Solenopsis pergandei Forel [Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis picta Emery [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Solenopsis texana Emery [Carter, 1962]
Solenopsis xyloni McCook (pest) [Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Tribe Attini
Pheidole bicarinata Mayr (pest?) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole crassicornis Emery [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole davisi Wheeler [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979]
Pheidole dentata Mayr (pest?) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole dentigula Smith [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole bilimeki Mayr [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979]
Pheidole metallescens Emery [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole morrisi Forel [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole navigans Forel (Guénard et al. 2012)
Pheidole pilifera (Roger) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Pheidole tetra Creighton [Guénard et al. 2012]
Pheidole tysoni Forel [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Strumigenys abdita Wesson & Wesson [Bolton, 2000]
Strumigenys angulata Smith [Guénard et al., 2008]
Strumigenys archboldi (Deyrup & Cover) [Guernard et al. 2012]
Strumigenys bimarginata Wesson & Wesson [Guénard et al., 2008]
Strumigenys carolinensis (Brown) [Bolton, 2000]
Strumigenys clypeata Roger [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys creightoni Smith [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys dietrichi Smith [MEM; Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys filirrhina (Brown) [Bolton, 2000]
Strumigenys laevinasis Smith [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al. 2012]
Strumigenys louisianae Roger [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979]
Strumigenys membranifera Emery (introduced)
Strumigenys missouriensis Smith [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys ohioensis Kennedy & Schramm [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys ornata Mayr [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys pergandei Emery [MEM, Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys pilinasis Forel [Bolton, 2000; Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys pulchella Emery [Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys reflexa Wesson & Wesson [Bolton, 2000]
Strumigenys rostrata Emery [MEM, Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys talpa Weber [Carter, 1962]
Strumigenys wrayi (Brown) [Bolton, 2000]
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (McCook) [Carter, 1962]
Tribe Crematogastrini
Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster parapilosa Ward and Blaimer [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster cerasi (Fitch) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster lineolata (Say) (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster minutissima Mayr [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster missuriensis Emery [Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster pilosa Emery (pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Crematogaster vermiculata Emery [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Myrmecina americana Emery [MEM; Carter, 1962]
Temnothorax americanus (Emery) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax curvispinosus (Mayr) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax longispinosus (Roger) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax minutissimus Smith [Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax pergandei (Emery) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax schaumii (Roger) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax smithi (Baroni Urbani) [Smith, 1979]
Temnothorax texanus (Wheeler) [Carter, 1962; Smith, 1979; Guénard et al., 2008]
Temnothorax tuscaloosae (Wilson) [Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander) (introduced, pest) [Guénard et al., 2008]
Tetramorium immigrans Santschi (introduced, pest) [MEM; Carter, 1962; Guénard et al., 2008]
Tribe Myrmecinini
Myrmecina americana Emery [Guénard et al., 2012]
Myrmecina sp.-01[Guénard et al., 2012]
Ahlstrom, K. R. 1995. Insects of North Carolina, fourth supplement, part 1: Hymenoptera. North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture. 147 pp.
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Brown, W. L. 1949. A new American Amblyopone, with notes on the genus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 56: 81-88.
Carter, W. G. 1962. "Ant distribution in North Carolina." J. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc. 78:150-204.
Dubois, M. and L. R. Davis. 1998. Stenamma foveolocephalum (= S. carolinense) rediscovered (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Sociobiology 32: 125-138.
Guénard, B., N. Sanders, and R. Dunn. 2007. Ants of North Carolina. http://www4.ncsu.edu/~bsguenar/Ants_of_NC%20BG.htm (accessed 12 November 2008).
Guénard, B. N., K. A. Mccaffrey, A. Lucky, and R. R. Dunn. 2012. Ants of North Carolina: An updated list (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3552 (3552): 1–36.
MacKay, W. P. 1993. A review of the New World ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 22: 1-148.
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Trager, J. C. 1984. A revision of the genus Nylanderia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the continental United States. Sociobiology 9: 49-162.
Trager, J. C. 1988. A revision of the Conomyrma (Hymenoptera: Fomicidae) from the southeastern United States, especially Florida, with keys to the species. Florida Entomologist 71: 11-29.
Trager, J. C., J. A. MacGown and M. D. Trager. 2007. Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). In: Snelling, R. R., P. S. Ward, and B. L. Fisher (editors), Advances in ant systematics. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80: 610-636.
Wetterer, J. K. 2008. Technomyrmex difficilis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae (in the West Indies). Florida Entomologist 91: 428-430.
Wray, D. L. 1967. Insects of North Carolina, third supplement. North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture. 181 pp.
Links
Ants of North Carolina - by Benoit Guénard, Nate Sanders, and Rob Dunn
