The ecology of the ants of the Welaka Reserve, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) ...

TLDR: This paper presents the results of a study dealing with ecological relationships of the ants on the University of Flori'da Conservation Reserve, Welaka, Florida, an attempt to expand the knowledge of the nesting habits and behavior of the ant of a limited area.

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study dealing with ecological relationships of the ants on the University of Flori'da Conservation Reserve, Welaka, Florida. It is an attempt to expand the knowledge of the nesting habits and behavior of the ants of a limited area. Although similar studies on ants had been undertaken previously in other parts of the United States, especially thle middle west, there still remained the opportunity to study comprehensively an area in the southeastern Coastal Plain, with its influences from both the neotropical and nearctic faunae. In studying the ants of the Reserve, it was desired to 1) ascertain what ant forms occur on the Reserve, and to determine their quantitative relationships in each of the situations in which they are found; 2) classify these different situations from a knowledge of the qualitative and quantitative distribution of the ants in them; 3) gather as much information as possible concerning the life history and ha'bits of the ants. During the study much interesting information incidental to the main problem was obtained on various aspects of the ants' biology. Observations concerning the speed of movement, feeditng habits, guests and parasites in the nests and on the individuals, and the hours during which foraging is done are included in an Annotated List to be published later. The literature bearing on ants of selected regions has been, for the most part, lists or keys, including only notes as to the nesting habits of the ants concerned. Several recent papers have dealt with the ecological relationships between the ants and the environment of limited areas: Buren (1944) in Iowa; Cole (1940) in the Great Smoky Mountains of T'ennessee; Gregg (1944) in the Chicago region; and Talbot (1934) also in the Chicago region. Those papers dealing with Florida ants have been four state lists (Smith, 1930, 1933, 1944; and Wheeler, 1932) and a key to the ants of the Gainesville region (Van Pelt, 1948). Until recently, the taxonomy of ants has been based on a quadrinomial system. Several authors in the 1930's and before have made proposals to do away with this, cumbersome type of nomenclature. In 1938 Creighton presented a trinomial system in which all varieties were raised to subspecific rank, and in 1944 Buren put this idea into practice for the ants of Iowa. Finally, in 1950, Creighton published a manual on the ants of North America in which he revised his earlier concept. By discarding the category

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Fig* 5* ~* Ntaoib«r of ant forms confined to a given ntmber of

TABLE III (ooat.)