Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with first report of the Hairy Alien Ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria

Study Extent

Sampling was performed in agricultural ecosystem and urban area in two locations of Algiers (Algeria): The first one at the Institute of Technology on Specialized Agriculture (ITMAS Heuraoua) in a citrus orchard and the second at the High National Veterinary School (ENSV El-Harrach). The study site of ITMAS Hueraoua is located in the East area of Sahel-Mitidja, 30 km from the centre of Algiers; and bordered to the north by the Algerian Sahel, to the east by Lake Reghaia, to the west by Ain-Taya and Rouïba finally to the south by the commune of Rouïba. This station has geographical coordinates of 3°19'00"E and 36°46'60"N; elevation 42 m. The soil type is fine sandy clay and slightly basic. The local climate is subhumid temperate (Bounab, 2009). It occupies a total area of 31.6 ha of which market gardening is the most dominant followed by arboriculture and cereal crops, forage and cultivation under plastic. The agricultural area is estimated at 17.25 ha, with four ha being citrus established for 60 years with around 180 trees (Citrus sinensis) with four varieties. For our study we chose the variety Washington Navel (fig. 1). The trees were watered regularly during dry periods. Diverse adventive plants in association with citrus trees were scored, for example: oxalis Bermuda Buttercup (Oxalis cernua Thunb.), Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) and Solanum sp. The second study site of ENSV is located in El Alia - Oued Smar 14 km east of Algiers at the same time it is a part of Mitidja and Algerian Sahel where the urban area occupies a very small portion place around 10 m2 of surface. This station has geographical coordinates of 36°42’13” N and 3°10’20” E; elevation 52 m.

Sampling

Sampling was carried out at ITMAS Heuraoua on a monthly basis from January 2016 to October 2017. Standard pitfall traps consisted of a 10.4 cm diameter metal container placed with its top at the same level as the surrounding ground, and holding a solution of water plus a drop of liquid detergent to break the surface tension. Ten traps were placed under the trees in single line also, separated by almost 5m. They were left for 48 hours before being gathered and emptied of their contents. This is a well-known method (e.g. Hernández-Ruiz and Castaño-Meneses, 2006, and Berville et al., 2015). On November 2018 at ENSV El-Harrach, we intentionally collected the ants directly to survey exotic species inside the building.

Quality Control

Ant samples were sorted to species level based on morphological characters. The Specimens were studied under a Leica stereomicroscope and all except N. jaegerskioeldi were identified by M. F. using available keys (Cagniant, 1996, 1997, 2009).

Method steps

1. Digital images were prepared using Keyance digital with 4x microscope objective. Voucher specimens are kept at the Higher National Agronomic School Algiers.

Exotic ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Maghreb, Algeria

1. Hymenoptera
   rank: order
2. Formicidae
   rank: family
3. Cardiocondyla
   rank: genus
4. Hypoponera
   rank: genus
5. Linepithema
   rank: genus
6. Lioponera
   rank: genus
7. Monomorium
   rank: genus
8. Nylanderia
   rank: genus
9. Paratrechina
   rank: genus
10. Pheidole
    rank: genus
11. Strumingenys
    rank: genus
12. Tetramorium
    rank: genus
13. Trichomyrmex
    rank: genus

Sampling was performed in agricultural ecosystem and urban area in two locations of Algiers (Algeria): The first study site of ITMAS Hueraoua is located in the East area of Sahel-Mitidja, 30 km from the centre of Algiers; and bordered to the north by the Algerian Sahel, to the east by Lake Reghaia, to the west by Ain-Taya and Rouïba finally to the south by the commune of Rouïba. This station has geographical coordinates of 3°19'00"E and 36°46'60"N; elevation 42 m. The second study site of ENSV is located in El Alia-Oued Smar 14 km east of Algiers at the same time it is a part of Mitidja and Algerian Sahel where the urban area occupies a very small portion place around 10 m2 of surface. This station has geographical coordinates of 36°42’13” N and 3°10’20” E; elevation 52 m.