Ants of Mississippi (species list)
[exotic species] [pest species]
Joe MacGown
Currently 175 species plus the hybrid fire ant, Solenopsis X invicta, from 9 subfamilies and 36 genera are known to occur in Mississippi. Another species, Camponotus atriceps, was collected in Mississippi in the early 1900's, but this species was collected in imported bananas and is not thought to be a resident. Therefore, it is not included in the total number of ants from the state. This list of ants was compiled by Joe MacGown from material
in the MEM collection, published records, and recent collections. Not all habitats in the state have been sampled thoroughly, and it is expected that the species total from the state will increase.
Historically, ants were studied extensively in Mississippi by Marion Smith from the early 1920's throught the early 1930's (Smith 1924a, b, c; 1927; 1928a, b; 1931; and 1932). Smith made great contributions to our knowledge of Mississippi's ant fauna by finding many new state records and even describing some new species. However, since that time, many taxonomic changes have taken place, thus making his "Ants of Mississippi" lists basically unusable. Compounding this problem is the need to incorporate recently described and introduced species to his list of ants of Mississippi. Consequently, the MEM has undertaken a survey for ants in Mississippi, which started in 2001.
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. Also see the "Mississippi Ants" site at AntWeb for photographs of Mississippi species. 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.
The list presented is arranged by subfamily, tribe, and genus according to Bolton (2003). Names follow Bolton (1995), except Dorymyrmex, which follows Snelling (1995); Pyramica, which follows Bolton (2000); Aphaenogaster, which follows Umphrey (1996); Pheidole, which follows Wilson (2003); and Crematogaster, which follows Johnson (1988) and Deyrup (2003). Species that are in the Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM), literature records, web based records, and/or other citations of records are noted in brackets following the species name (note that not all published records are given).
FORMICIDAE
DOLICHODERINAE
DOLICHODERINI
Dolichoderus mariae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Dolichoderus pustulatus Mayr [Smith 1924b, 1931a]
Dolichoderus taschenbergi (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Dorymyrmex bureni (Trager) [MEM]
Dorymyrmex flavus McCook [MEM]
Dorymyrmex grandulus (Forel) [MEM]
Dorymyrmex smithi Cole [MEM]
Forelius mccooki (McCook) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Forelius pruinosus (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Linepithema humile (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius) [MEM]
Tapinoma sessile (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
FORMICINAE
LASIINI
Lasius alienus (Foerster) [MEM; Smith 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Lasius claviger (Roger) [Smith 1931a]
Lasius flavus (Fabicius) [Smith 1931a]
Lasius interjectus (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Lasius neoniger Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927]
Lasius umbratus (Nylander) [MEM; Smith, 1928b]
PLAGIOLEPIDINI
Brachymyrmex depilis Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Brachyrmyrmex obscurior Forel [MEM]
Brachymrymex patagonicus Mayr [MEM, MacGown et al., 2007]
Brachymyrmex sp.-03 [MEM]
Paratrechina arenivaga (Wheeler) [MEM; Smith, 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Paratrechina faisonensis (Forel) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b; Trager, 1984]
Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Paratrechina parvula (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Paratrechina phantasma Trager [MEM]
Paratrechina vividula (Nylander) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Paratrechina wojciki Trager [MEM]
Paratrechina sp.-01 [MEM]
Paratrechina sp.-02 [MEM]
Prenolepis imparis (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924c, 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
CAMPONOTINI
Camponotus americanus Mayr (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus caryae (Fitch) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Camponotus castaneus (Latreille) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus chromaiodes Bolton (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus decipiens Emery (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus discolor (Buckley) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1927, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus floridanus (Buckley) (pest) [MEM]
Camponotus impressus (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; Tynes, 1964; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Camponotus mississippiensis Smith [MEM; Smith,1924c; Tynes, 1964]
Camponotus nearcticus Emery (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus obliquus Smith [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer) (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus snellingi Bolton (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Camponotus socius Roger (pest) [MEM; Smith, 1924c]
Camponotus subbarbatus Emery (pest) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
FORMICINI
Formica biophilica Trager [MEM; Trager et al., 2007]
Formica dolosa Buren [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Formica exsectoides Forel [MEM]
Formica integra Nylander [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Formica pallidefulva Latreille [MEM: Smith 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Formica subsericea Say [MEM; Smith 1924c; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Polyergus longicornis M. R. Smith [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Polyergus montivagus Wheeler [MEM; Hill, 2006]
PSEUDOMYRMECINAE
Pseudomyrmex ejectus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1924]
Pseudomyrmex pallidus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pseudomyrmex seminole Ward [MEM; Ward, 1985]
ECITONINAE
ECITONINI
Neivamyrmex carolinensis (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex nigrescens (Cresson) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex opacithorax (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
Neivamyrmex pilosus (F. Smith) [MEM; Smith 1928a, Smith 1942]
AMBLYONPONINAE
AMBLYOPONINI
Amblyopone pallipes
(Haldeman) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
PONERINAE
PONERINI
Cryptopone gilva
(Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Hypoponera inexorata (Wheeler) [MEM; Smith, 1927; Hill, 2006]
Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) [MEM; Smith 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Hypoponera opacior (Forel) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Odontomachus ruginodis M.R.Smith [MEM]
Ponera exotica M.R.Smith [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Ponera pennsylvanica
Buckley [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
ECTATOMMINAE
ECTATOMMINI
Gnamptogenys triangularis (Mayr) [MEM]
PROCERATIINAE
PROCERATIINI
Discothyrea testacea Roger [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium chickasaw de Andrade [MEM; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003]
Proceratium crassicorne Emery [MEM; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003]
Proceratium croceum (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1928a; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium pergandei (Emery) [MEM; Smith, 1928b; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Proceratium silaceum Roger [MEM; Smith, 1928a; Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
MYRMICINAE
DACETINI
Pyramica abdita (Wesson & Wesson) [MEM]
Pyramia angulata (Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pyramica bimarginata (Wesson & Wesson) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica bunki (Brown) (Bolton, 2000) [Bolton, 2000]
Pyramica clypeata (Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica creightoni (Smith) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica dietrichi (Smith) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pyramica hexamera (Brown) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica hyalina Bolton [MEM; Bolton 2000; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica inopina (Deyrup & Cover) [MEM]
Pyramica laevinasis (Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica membranifera (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1931b, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica metazytes Bolton [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica missouriensis (Smith) [MEM; Smith, 1931b, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica ohioensis (Kennedy & Schramm) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica ornata
(Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1932; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pyramica pergandei (Emery) [MEM]
Pyramica pilinasis (Forel) [MEM; Smith,1931a; MacGown et al., 2005]
Pyramica pulchella (Emery) [MEM; Smith, 1928b, 1931b; Bolton, 2000; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pyramica reflexa (Wesson & Wesson) [MEM]; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica rohweri (Smith) [MEM; Brown, 1953]
Pyramica rostrata (Emery) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica talpa (Weber) [MEM; MacGown et al., 2005; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pyramica wrayi (Brown) [MEM]
Pyramica n. sp. (no photo at this time) [MEM]
Strumigenys louisianae Roger [MEM; Smith 1927, 1932; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Strumigenys silvestrii Emery [MEM]
ATTINI
Cyphomyrmex rimosus (Spinola) [MEM; Smith, 1979]
Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (McCook) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
STENAMMINI
Stenamma foveolocephalum M.R.Smith [Smith, 1931a; Dubois & Davis, 1998]
Stenamma impar Forel [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a-reported as S. meridionale]
SOLENOPSIDINI
Monomorium minimum (Buckley) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus) [MEM; Smith, 1924a]
Monomorium viride Brown [Storz and Tschinkel, 2004]
Solenopsis abdita Thompson [MEM]
Solenopsis carolinensis Forel [MEM]
Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Solenopsis globularia littoralis Creighton [MEM; Smith 1931a]
Solenopsis invicta Buren [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994]
Solenopsis invicta X richteri [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Solenopsis molesta (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Solenopsis pergandei Forel [MEM; Smith 1931a]
Solenopsis picta Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927]
Solenopsis richteri Forel [MEM; Shoemaker et al., 1994]
Solenopsis salina Wheeler (Pacheco, 2007) [Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis subterranea MacKay Vinson [MEM]
Solenopsis tennesseensis M.R.Smith [MEM]
Solenopsis texana Emery [MEM; Pacheco, 2007]
Solenopsis tonsa Thompson [MEM]
Solenopsis xyloni McCook [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
MYRMICINI
Myrmica latifrons Starcke [Smith, 1924a]
Myrmica pinetorum Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1932]
Myrmica punctiventris Roger [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Myrmica spatulata Smith [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Pogonomyrmex badius (Latreille) [MEM; Smith, 1924a]
TETRAMORIINI
Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander) [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Tetramorium caespitum (Linnaeus) [MEM]
Tetramorium lanuginosum Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
PHEIDOLINI
Aphaenogaster ashmeadi (Emery) [MEM; Smith, 1924]
Aphaenogaster carolinensis Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster flemingi Smith [MEM; Smith, 1928b]
Aphaenogaster floridana Smith [MEM]
Aphaenogaster fulva Roger [MEM; Smith, 1924a,1928a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster lamellidens Mayr [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster mariae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924a, MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Aphaenogaster miamiana Wheeler [MEM]
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1924a, 1932]
Aphaenogaster treatae Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pheidole bicarinata Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole crassicornis Emery [Smith, 1924a]
Pheidole dentata Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924b; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole dentigula Smith [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole floridana Emery [MEM; Smith, 1924b; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004]
Pheidole lamia Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Pheidole metallescens Emery [MEM; Smith, 1924b; ; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pheidole moerens Wheeler [MEM; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004]
Pheidole morrisii Forel [MEM; Smtih, 1924a]
Pheidole obscurithorax Naves [MEM; Storz & Tschinkel, 2004]
Pheidole pilifera
(Roger) [MEM; Smith, 1924a; Hill, 2006]
Pheidole soritis Wheeler [MEM; Smith, 1924a]
Pheidole tetra Wheeler [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Pheidole tysoni Forel [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Pheidole n. sp. [MEM]
CREMATOGASTRINI
Crematogaster ashmeadi Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Crematogaster atkinsoni Wheeler (Smith) [Smith, 1924b]
Crematogaster cerasi Emery [MEM]
Crematogaster lineolata (Say) [MEM; Smith, 1924b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Crematogaster minutissima Mayr [MEM; Smith, 1928b; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Crematogaster missuriensis Emery [MEM; Smith, 1924b]
Crematogaster pilosa Emery [MEM; Smith, 1924b;MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
Crematogaster pinicola Deyrup and Cover [MEM]
Crematogaster vermiculata Emery [MEM]
FORMICOXENINI
Temnothorax curvispinosus (Mayr) [MEM; Smith, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Temnothorax longispinosus (Roger) [MEM]
Temnothorax pergandei (Emery) [MEM; Smith 1924a, 1931a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Temnothorax schaumii (Roger) [MEM; Smith 1924a; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Temnothorax smithi (Baroni Urbani) [MEM; Smith, 1931a]
Temnothorax texanus Wheeler
(Smith) [Smith 1932]
Temnothorax tuscaloosae (Wilson) [MEM; MacGown & Brown, 2006a]
MYRMECININI
Myrmecina americana Emery [MEM; Smith, 1927; MacGown & Brown, 2006a,b]
Baroni Urbani, C. and M. L. de Andrade. 2003. The ant genus Proceratium in the extant and fossil record (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Monografie 36: 1-480.
Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. Vol. 65, part 1-2.
Hill, J. G. 2006. Environmental Variables Affecting Ant Community Composition in Mississippi's Black Belt Prairie and Flatwoods Regions. Masters Thesis, Mississippi State University. 72 pp.
MacGown, J. A., J.G. Hill, and M. A. Deyrup. 2007. Brachymyrmex patagonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), an emerging pest species in the southeastern United States. Florida Entomologist 90: 457-464.
MacGown, J. A. and R. L. Brown. 2006a. Survey of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Tombigbee National Forest in Mississippi. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 79: 325-340.
MacGown, J. A. and R. L. Brown. 2006b. Observations on high diversity of native ant species coexisting with imported fire ants at a microspatial scale in Mississippi. Southeastern Naturalist 5: 573-586
MacGown, J. A., R. L. Brown, and J. G. Hill. 2005. An annotated list of the Pyramica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dacetini) of Mississippi. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 78: 285–289
Pacheco, J. A. 2007. The New World ants of the genus Solenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PhD dissertation, The University of Texas at El Paso. i-xxi +543 pp.
Shoemaker, D. D, K. G. Ross, and M. L. Arnold. 1994. Development of RAPD markers in two introduced fire ants, Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri, and their application to the study of a hybrid zone. Molecular Biology 3: 531-539.
Smith, M. R. 1924a. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 77-85.
Smith, M. R. 1924b. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 121-127.
Smith, M. R. 1924c. An annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.) Entomology News 35: 121-127.
Smith, M. R. 1927. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Pheidole (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 38: 308-314.
Smith, M. R. 1928a. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Aphaenogaster (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 39: 242.
Smith, M. R. 1928b. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi with a description of a new species of Aphaenogaster (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 39: 275-279.
Smith, M. R. 1931a. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 42: 16-24.
Smith, M. R. 1931b. A revision of the genus Strumigenys of America, north of Mexico, based on a study of the workers. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 24: 384-387.
Smith, M. R. 1932. An additional annotated list of the ants of Mississippi (Hym.: Formicidae). Entomology News. 42: 157-160.
Snelling, R. R. 1988. Taxonomic notes on Nearctic species of Camponotus, Subgenus Myrmentoma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). pp. 55-78 in J.C. Trager (ed). Advances in Myrmecology. E.J. Brill: New York, New York, USA.
Snelling, R. R. 1995. Systematics of Nearctic ants of the genus Dorymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contr. Sci. (Los Angel.). 454: 1-14.
Storz, S. R. and W. R. Tschinkel. 2004. Distribution, spread, and ecological associations of the introduced ant Pheidole obscurithorax in the southeastern United States. Journal of Insect Science 4: 1-11.
Trager, J. C. 1984. A revision of the genus Paratrechina (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.
Tynes, J. S. 1964. Biological and ecological studies of ants of the subgenus Colobopsis in Mississippi. M. S. Thesis, Mississippi State College, State College. i-vii + 73 pp.
Ward, P. S. 1985. The Nearctic species of the genus Pseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Quaest. Entomol. 21: pp. 209-246.
Return to: [MEM] [Formicidae Front Page] [Faunal Lists] [Mississippi Pest Ants] [Mississippi Exotic Ants]
For questions or comments about this page or about ants, contact Joe MacGown: jmacgown@entomology.msstate.edu