Exotic Ants of South Carolina [South Carolina Ants] [South Carolina Pest Ants]
Joe MacGown
Currently, 21 exotic species are known to occur in South Carolina. The exotic ants listed below are thought to have originated from a variety of regions including Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia (Deyrup et al. (2000) and McGywnn (1999).
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.
Exotic Ants of South Carolina (arranged alphabetically)
Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr (introduced-Argentina, Neotropics, pest)
Brachyponera chinensis (Emery) (introduced-China, pest)
Cardiocondyla minutior Forel (introduced-IndoMalaysia)
Cyphomyrmex rimosus (Spinola) (introduced-Neotropics)
Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) (introduced-Brazil)
Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger) (introduced-Europe?, pest)
Linepithema humile (Mayr) (introduced-Argentina, pest)
Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus) (introduced-Africa?, pest)
Nylanderia bourbonica (Forel) (introduced-Old World Tropics, pest )
Nylanderia flavipes (F. Smith) (introduced - Asia)
Nylanderia vividula (Nylander) (introduced?- Mexico??Europe?, nuisance pest)
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) (introduced-Old World Tropics-Africa?, pest)
Pheidole navigans Forel (AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, SC) (introduced- Greater Antilles, Puerto Rico?)
Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Fabricius) (introduced-Mexico or Central America, pest?)
Solenopsis invicta Buren (introduced-Brazil, pest)
Strumigenys membranifera Emery (introduced-Old World Tropics-Europe)
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) (introduced-Indo-Pacific)
Technomyrmex difficilis Forel (introduced, pest-previously misidentified as T. albipes (Smith), see Wetterer, 2008)
Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander) (introduced-Old World Tropics-SE Asia, pest)
Tetramorium immigrans Santschi (introduced?-Europe, pest)
Tetramorium lanuginosum Mayr (introduced-Old World Tropics-SE Asia?, pest)
Deyrup, M., S. Cover, and L. Davis. 2000. Exotic ants in Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 126 293-325.
McGywnn, T. P. 1999. The worldwide transfer of ants: geographical distribution and ecological invasions. Journal of Biogeography 26: 535-548.
Wetterer, J. K. 2008. Technomyrmex difficilis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae (in the West Indies). Florida Entomologist 91: 428-430.
