Diversity of Ants in Kuttanad region of Kerala, India

Abstract

The present study deals with the diversity of ants in Kuttanad region of Kerala, India. Ants were collected from six different sites of Kuttanad region with the help of pitfall trap, brush method, sweep net and aspirator method. 25 species were collected from this region. Among the subfamilies reported from study area Myrmicinae was dominant with 13 species followed by Formicinae with 7 species, Ponerinae with 3 and Dolichoderinae and Pseudomyrmecinae with 1 species each. Ant diversity is very poor in Kuttanad region because of high use of insecticides in the paddy fields.