General Earth and Planetary Sciences; General Engineering; General Environmental Science
Abstract :
[en] Ant studies conducted in Rwanda have reported a total of 105 ant species. However, this is an underestimation of the total ant richness since Rwanda is in a region rich in biodiversity. To fill the gaps, ants have been sampled in planted forests, coffee plantations, and different other land use types since 2017. Specimens have been collected using pitfall traps and hand collection, digitized, and identified to subfamily, genus, and species level. Results indicated that five ant species were found in Rwanda for the first time. These are Camponotus acvapimensis, Camponotus schoutedeni, Camponotus sericeus, Odontomachus assiniensis and Tetramorium sericeiventre. Specimens are deposited at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science and the Rwanda Ant Collection. We recommend more ant studies focussing on their mode of living. This will result in more ant species newly recorded in the country and possibly new to science
Disciplines :
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Nsengimana, Venuste ; Université de Liège - ULiège ; Department of Mathematics, Science and Physical Education, College of Education, University of Rwanda & Centre of Excellence in Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management (CoEB), University of Rwanda P.O. Box 4285, Kigali, Rwanda
Dekoninck, Wouter; Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (Scientific Heritage Service) Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Language :
English
Title :
First Record of Five Ant Species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Rwanda
