Ants of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina)
Joe A. MacGown and JoVonn G. Hill

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located in the southern Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, includes over 800 square miles of mostly wooded habitat. The park is extraordinarily diverse in its flora and fauna and over 10, 000 species are known to occur there, and it is estimated that another 90,000 species possibly live there. In an effort to catalog species found in the park, scientists are collecting and documenting the inhabitants of the park through a large project entitled the "All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI)". Ants are among the many organisms being surveyed for; and currently, 103 species are known to occur in the park. The list below includes species that were documented to occur in the park by various earlier researchers (see literature cited), the ATBI staff and scientists involved in collections, and by collections made by Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) Staff.

Ants of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Species are arranged taxonomically by genus)

Family Formicidae
    Subfamily Dolichoderinae
        Tribe Dolichoderini
             
Dolichoderus mariae Forel (TN)
             Dolichoderus plagiatus (Mayr) (NC, TN)
             
Dolichoderus taschenbergi (Mayr) (TN)
             
Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager) (TN)
             
Forelius mccooki (McCook) (TN)
             Tapinoma sessile (Say) (NC, TN) (pest)

    Subfamily Formicinae
        Tribe Lasiini
            
Lasius alienus (Foerster) (NC, TN) (introduced?)
             Lasius claviger (Roger) (NC, TN)
             Lasius flavus (Fabricius) (TN) (introduced?)
             Lasius interjectus (Mayr) (TN)
             Lasius latipes (Walsh) (?)
             Lasius nearcticus Wheeler ( TN)
             Lasius neoniger Emery (TN)
             Lasius speculiventris Emery (TN)
             Lasius subglaber (Emery) (TN)
             Lasius umbratus (Nylander) ( NC, TN)

        Tribe Plagiolepidini
            
Brachymyrmex depilis Emery (NC, TN)   
             Paratrechina faisonensis (Forel) (NC)
             Paratrechina parvula (Mayr) (TN)
             Prenolepis imparis (Say) (NC, TN) (pest?)

        Tribe Camponotini
             
Camponotus americanus Mayr (NC, TN) (pest)
             
Camponotus caryae (Fitch) (TN) (pest)
             
Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) (TN) (pest)
             
Camponotus chromaiodes Bolton (NC, TN) (pest)
             
Camponotus mississippiensis Smith (?)
             
Camponotus nearcticus Emery (NC, TN) (pest)
             Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) (NC, TN) (pest)
             Camponotus snellingi Bolton (?)
             
Camponotus subbarbatus Emery ( NC) (pest)

        Tribe Formicini
             Formica aserva Forel (TN)
             Formica biophilica Trager (TN)
             Formica difficilis Emery (TN)
             Formica dolosa Buren (TN)
             Formica exsectoides Forel (TN)
             Formica fusca Linnaeus (TN)
             Formica incerta Buren (NC)
             Formica integra Nylander (AL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN)
             Formica neogagates Emery (TN)
             Formica obscuriventris Mayr (GA, NC)
             Formica pallidefulva Latreille (TN)
             Formica querquetulana Kennedy and Dennis (Smoky Moutains, state unknown)
             Formica rubicunda Emery (TN)
             Formica subintegra Wheeler (TN)
             Formica subsericea Latreille ( NC, TN)

    Subfamily Ecitoninae
        Tribe Ecitonini

             
Neivamyrmex carolinensis (Emery) (TN)
             Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson) (TN)

    Subfamily Amblyoponinae
        Tribe Amblyoponini
             
Amblyopone pallipes (Haldeman) (NC, TN)

        Tribe Ponerini

             Cryptopone gilva (Roger) (TN)
             Hypoponera opacior (Forel) (TN)
             Ponera pennsylvanica Buckley (NC, TN)

    Subfamily Proceratiinae
        Tribe Proceratiini

             Proceratium croceum (Roger) ( TN)
             Proceratium pergandei (Emery) (TN)
             Proceratium silaceum Roger (NC, TN)

        Tribe Dacetini
             
Pyramica clypeata (Roger) (NC, TN)
             
Pyramica creightoni (Smith) (TN)
             Pyramica ohioensis (Kennedy & Schramm) ( NC, TN)
             
Pyramica ornata (Mayr) ( NC, TN)
             
Pyramica pulchella (Emery) (TN)
             
Pyramica reflexa (Wesson & Wesson) (TN)
             
Pyramica rostrata (Emery) ( NC, TN)
             
Pyramica talpa (Weber) (TN)

        Tribe Attini
             Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (McCook) (TN)

        Tribe Stenammini
             
Stenamma brevicorne (Mayr) ( NC)
             Stenamma diecki Emery (NC, TN)
             
Stenamma impar Forel (NC, TN)
             
Stenamma meridionale Smith (NC)
             
Stenamma schmittii Wheeler (NC, TN)

        Tribe Solenopsidini
             Monomorium minimum (Buckley) (NC, TN) (pest)
             
Solenopsis carolinensis Forel (?)
             
Solenopsis invicta Buren (NC, TN) (introduced, pest)
             Solenopsis molesta (Say) (NC, TN) (pest)

        Tribe Myrmicini
             Myrmica fracticornis Forel (TN)
             Myrmica latifrons Starcke (NC, TN)
             Myrmica pinetorum Wheeler (NC)
             Myrmica punctiventris Roger (NC, TN)
             Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander ?? (Smoky Mountains, state unknown) (introduced)
             Myrmica sculptilis Francoeur (Smoky Mountains, state unknown)
             Myrmica spatulata Smith (NC)

        Tribe Tetramoriini
             Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus) (TN) (introduced?, pest)

        Tribe Pheidolini
             
Aphaenogaster ashmeadi Emery (TN)
             Aphaenogaster carolinensis Wheeler ( NC, TN)
             Aphaenogaster fulva Roger (NC, TN)
             Aphaenogaster lamellidens Mayr (TN)
             Aphaenogaster picea (Wheeler) (TN)
             Aphaenogaster rudis Enzmann ( NC, TN)
             Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (Mayr) (TN)
             Aphaenogaster treatae Forel (TN)
             Pheidole bicarinata Mayr (TN) (pest?)
             Pheidole dentata Mayr (TN) (pest?)
             Pheidole dentigula Smith (TN)
             Pheidole morrisii Forel (TN)

        Tribe Crematogastrini
             
Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr (TN) (pest)
             Crematogaster cerasi (Fitch) (NC, TN)
             Crematogaster lineolata (Say) (TN) (pest)
             Crematogaster minutissima (Mayr) (TN)
             Crematogaster missuriensis Emery ( TN)
             Crematogaster pilosa Emery (TN) (pest)

        Tribe Formicoxenini
             
Temnothorax curvispinosus (Mayr) (NC, TN)
             
Temnothorax longispinosus (Roger) ( NC, TN)
             
Temnothorax pergandei (Emery) (TN)
             
Temnothorax schaumii (Roger) (TN)
             
Temnothorax smithi (Baroni Urbani) (TN)

        Tribe Myrmecinini
             
Myrmecina americana Emery (NC, TN)

 

Literature Cited

Cole, A. C. 1953. A checklist of ants of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science. 28: 34-35.

Pfitzer, D.W. 1950. Report on mammals collected or observed June-October 1950. 13pp.

Snyder, K.D. 1957. A checklist of insects of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Montreat College, Montreat, NC. 78pp.


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For questions or comments about this page contact Joe MacGown: jmacgown@entomology.msstate.ed