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

N. Oussalah1, N. Oussalah2, X. Espadaler3, M. Biche4, Montse Ferrer5, Montse Ferrer6

1 Higher National Agronomic School Algiers El-Harrach, 12 Avenue Hassen Badi, El Harrach; 2 Higher National Agronomic School Algiers El-Harrach, 12 Avenue Hassen Badi, El Harrach, Algeria; 3 CREAF, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallés, Spain; 4 Higher National Agronomic School Algiers, El Harrach, 12 Avenue Hassen Badi, El Harrach; 5 Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Ps Picasso s/n, 08003, Barcelona; 6 Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Ps PIcasso s/n, 08003, Barcelona

Corresponding author(s): N. Oussalah (oussalahlavende@yahoo.fr)N. Oussalah (oussalahlavende@yahoo.fr)X. EspadalerM. Biche, Montse Ferrer (montseferrerf@gmail.com)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Oussalah, N., Marniche, F., Espadaler, X., Biche M., 2019. Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with first report of the Hairy Alien Ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria. https://doi.org/10.15470/dgay4r

Abstract

We attempted to document all ant species ever collected in Maghreb, based on published accounts, the FORMIS database and examination of http//www.antweb.org, and established the percentage of exotics within the total number of known ant species.
We compiled 16 exotic ant species found in the Maghreb in wild ecosystems, gardens and urban areas. Five of these introduced species are considered major ecological and agricultural household pest species that have become established above all in Morocco.

Keywords: Tramp ants, Maghreb, Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi, Queen, Exotic ants

Project details

Project title: Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with first report of the Hairy Alien Ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria
Personnel: N. Oussalah
Study area descriptions/descriptor: 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.
Design description: 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. 
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). Digital images were prepared using Keyance digital with 4x microscope objective. Voucher specimens are kept at the Higher National Agronomic School Algiers.

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?r=ants_maghreb

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: Exotic ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Maghreb, Algeria
Taxonomic ranks
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Genus: Cardiocondyla, Hypoponera, Linepithema, Lioponera, Monomorium, Nylanderia, Paratrechina, Pheidole, Strumingenys, Tetramorium, Trichomyrmex

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: 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.
Coordinates: 22°30'46.8''N and 33°17'6''N Latitude; 3°30'57.6''W and 11°4'26.4''E Longitude 

Temporal coverage: January 1, 2016 - November 30, 2018

Methods

Method step description: Digital images were prepared using Keyance digital with 4x microscope objective. Voucher specimens are kept at the Higher National Agronomic School Algiers.
Study extent description: 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 description: 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 description: 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).

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with first report of the Hairy Alien Ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.es/archive.do?r=ants_maghreb
Publication date of data: 2019-10-10
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2019-06-11
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Oussalah, N., Marniche, F., Espadaler, X., Biche M., 2019. Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with first report of the Hairy Alien Ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria. Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 17: