Subterranean ant species diversity (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in educational and biological research forest of universitas andalas, Indonesia

Abstract

The present study is a first study of the diversity of subterranean ants in Sumatra Island, Indonesia. Subterranean probes and traps were used to collect ants at Educational and Biological Research Forest (EBRF), Universitas Andalas, Sumatra, Indonesia. A total of ten species of ant [Hypoponera truncata (F. Smith, 1860); Lophomyrmex bedoti Emery, 1893; Odontomachus minangkabau Satria et al., 2015; Odontoponera denticulata (F. Smith, 1858); Pheidole Forel, 1911; Pheidole sp. 1 of HH; Pheidole sp. 3 of HH; Pheidole sp. 12 of HH; Pristomyrmex bicolor (Emery, 1900); Selenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804)] that belonging to two subfamilies, seven genera and 330 individuals was collected. The subfamily Myrmicinae was the highest number of species which were dominated by Lophomyrmex bedoti and Pheidole sp. 1 of HH in the number of individual. These two species was found at every level of four level of soil depth. The subterranean probes were collected more species of ants than the subterranean trap with 0.92 and 0.75 in diversity indices.