DOI: 10.13102/sociobiology.v67i3.5014Sociobiology 67(3): 478-480 (September, 2020) Open access journal: http://periodicos.uefs.br/ojs/index.php/sociobiology ISSN: 0361-6525 Syllophopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a genus of small, inconspicuous ants, with 21 valid species (Bolton 2020). Most Syllophopsis species are known only from the Afrotropical bioregion. Syllophopsis sechellensis (Emery), however, has achieved broad distribution in Asia and Australia, and on islands the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans (Wetterer & Sharaf, 2017). In the New World, all published records of S. sechellensis come from West Indian islands (Wetterer & Sharaf, 2017). Here, I report the first records of S. sechellensis from North America. Syllophopsis workers are small, monomorphic, yellow to light brown in color, and have 12-segmented antennae with 3-segmented terminal clubs (Bolton, 1987). Syllophopsis workers resemble small Solenopsis thief ants. However, the two genera can be distinguished easily because Solenopsis workers have 2-segmented terminal clubs. Like most Syllophopsis species, S. sechellensis workers have tiny eyes. One character, Abstract Syllophopsis sechellensis (Emery) (formerly Monomorium sechellense) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a small, inconspicuous ant species native to the Old-World tropics. Syllophopsis sechellensis is widespread in Asia and Australia, and on islands the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. In the New World, all published records come from West Indian islands. Here, I report the first records of S. sechellensis from North America: from four sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida, more than 1500 km from the closest records in the West Indies. The ants of Florida have been well-studied in the past, so S. sechellensis appears to be a recent arrival. Sociobiology An international journal on social insects JK Wetterer Article History Edited by Evandro Nascimento Silva, UEFS, Brazil Received 17 February 2020 Initial acceptance 22 June 2020 Final acceptance 22 June 2020 Publication date 30 September 2020 Keywords Biogeography; biological invasion; non- native species. Corresponding author James K. Wetterer Wilkes Honors College Florida Atlantic University 5353 Parkside Drive, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA. E-Mail: wetterer@fau.edu however, that distinguishes S. sechellensis from other members of the genus is that its entire mesopleuron is matte and reticulate punctate, whereas in all other described Syllophopsis species the mesopleuron is glossy and smooth. This character easily separates S. sechellensis from the only other Syllophopsis species known from the New World, Syllophopsis subcoeca Emery. Materials and Methods I surveyed ants at sites in peninsular Florida primarily using two methods: vegetation beating for arboreal ants and leaf litter extraction for subterranean ants. For the litter samples, I sampled mostly under slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelmann), where the leaf litter is typically 10-30 cm thick. In earlier research, Wetterer et al. (2018) found a non-native trap jaw ant, Anochetus mayri, was common in slash pine litter in southeastern Florida. Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA First North American Records of the Old-World Tramp Ant Syllophopsis sechellensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) SHORT NOTE Sociobiology 67(3): 478-480 (September, 2020) 479 Results I collected Syllophopsis sechellensis through litter extraction at four sites in southeast Florida (Fig 1), spanning 46 km from southwest to northeast (geo-coordinates and dates in parentheses): Miami-Dade Co.; University Park; FIU Preserve, slash pine (25.755, -80.379, 23-Sep-19). Broward Co.; Fort Lauderdale; 28th Terrace, vacant lot, slash pine (26.093, -80.181, 25-Sep-19). Miami-Dade Co.; Westview; NW 107th Street, vacant lot, leaf litter (25.8721, -80.2267, 17-Nov-19). Broward Co.; Fort Lauderdale; Sailboat Bend Park, slash pine (26.1179, -80.1607, 19-Nov-19). Mostafa Sharaf (King Saud University, Saudi Arabia) confirmed my identification of these Syllophopsis sechellensis specimens. Pinned vouchers will be deposited in the United States National Museum, the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Archbold Biological Station, and the personal collections of Mostafa Sharaf and James K. Wetterer. Wetterer and Sharaf (2017) reported S. sechellensis from 12 West Indian islands (Barbados, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Martinique, Mona, Puerto Rico, St Croix, St Lucia, St Martin, St Thomas, St Vincent, and Trinidad). Subsequently, I re- examined specimens I collected at Montpelier Botanical Gardens on Nevis (17.123, -62.595, 14-May-07) and determined Fig 1. Records of Syllophopsis sechellensis in Florida (map made using carto.com). JK Wetterer – First North American records of Syllophopsis sechellensis480 them to be a mix of both S. sechellensis and S. subcoeca. In addition, although Deyrup (2016) reported that he collected S. subcoeca on Dominica, these specimens (Cabrits National Park; 15.587, -61.474; 2-May-2006) were actually misidentified S. sechellensis (M. Deyrup, pers. comm.). Discussion Syllophopsis sechellensis has widespread records from the Old-World tropics and subtropics, particularly from islands (Wetterer & Sharaf, 2017). Syllophopsis sechellensis is certainly exotic to the New World, where it was first found in 2003 on the island of Barbados (Wetterer et al., 2016). Syllophopsis sechellensis is now known from 14 West Indian islands (see Results). The first North American records of S. sechellensis, which I report here, are from four sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, southeast Florida, more than 1500 km from the closest records of this species in the West Indies. The ant fauna of Florida has been well-studied in the past (Deyrup, 2016), so S. sechellensis appears to be a recent arrival. Because it is small and subterranean, S. sechellensis can be easily overlooked and it may have a broader range in the New World than is currently known. Although all known records of S. sechellensis in the New World are relatively recent, some earlier specimens of S. sechellensis from the New World may have been misidentified as S. subcoeca (see Results). How far S. sechellensis will spread in Florida remains to be seen. Syllophopsis sechellensis is not known as a pest species and it seems unlikely that it will become one. It is just one more addition to the growing list of non-native ant species with established populations in Florida. Acknowledgments I thank M. Wetterer for comments on this manuscript, M. Deyrup for unpublished collection data, and Florida Atlantic University for financial support. References Bolton B. (1987) A review of the Solenopsis genus-group and revision of Afrotropical Monomorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology 54: 263–452. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.26850 Bolton B. (2020) Syllophopsis Santschi, 1915. AntCat: An On- Line Catalog of the Ants of the World. http://www.antcat.org/ catalog/429732?qq=Syllophopsis (accessed 16 February 2020). Deyrup M. (2016) Ants of Florida. Identification and Natural History. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. 423 pp. Wetterer JK, Sharaf MR (2017) Worldwide distribution of Syllophopsis sechellensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 100: 281-285. doi: 10.1653/024.100.0224 Wetterer JK, Deyrup MA, Bryant A. (2018) Spread of the non- native trap-jaw ant Anochetus mayri (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 144: 437-441. doi: 10.3157/061.144.0201 Wetterer JK, Lubertazzi D, Rana J, Wilson EO. (2016) Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Barbados. Breviora, 548: 1-34. doi: 10.3099/brvo-548-00-1-34.1