Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok XIX. - Natura Somogyiensis 35. / Miscellanea 19. (Kaposvár, 2020)
Samin, N. et al.: A contirbution to ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from North and Northwestern regions of Iran
Natura Somogyiensis 35: 29-36. Kaposvár, 2020 Submitted: 30.06, 2020; Accepted: 05.07, 2020; Published: 31.07, 2020 DOI:10.24394/NatSom.2020.35.29 www.smmi.hu/termtud/ns/ns.htm A contribution to ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from North and Northwestern regions of Iran Najmeh Samin1, Zalimkhan Yusupov2, Majid Navaeian3 & Hamid Sakenin4 ■Young Researchers and Elite Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; email: n_samin63@yahoo.com 2Tembotov Institute of Ecology of Mountain Territories of Russian Academy of Science, Nalchik, Russia department of Biology, Yadegar- e- Imam Khomeini (RAH) Shahre Rey Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran,Iran “■Department of Plant Protection, Qaemshahr Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Iran Samin, N., Yusupov, Z., Navaeian, M. & Sakenin, H.: A contribution to ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from North and Northwestern regions of Iran. Abstract: This paper deals with faunistic data on the Formicidae (Hymenoptera) from north and northwestern Iran. Totally 15 species in 10 genera were collected and identified, which four species are new records for the fauna of Iran. Four species are new records for the fauna of Iran: Myrmica ruginodis Nylander, 1846, Strongylognathus rehbinderi Forel, 1904, Temnothorax interruptus (Schenck, 1852), and Tetramorium immigrans Santschi, 1927. Keywords: Ant, Formicidae, fauna, new records, Iran Introduction The family Formicidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea) includes more than 13.700 species worldwide in 337 genera and 17 extant subfamilies (Bolton 2020). The first fossil records of ants are known from the Cretaceous (ca 100 millions years ago). Their radiance however is dated much earlier (Moreau et al. 2006). Ants are distributed mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions, where species richness and abundance of this family may be overwhelming (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990, Agosti et al. 2000). All ants are eusocial insects, which live in societies with overlapping adult generations. The colonies of all ants in temperate zone are perennial, lasting over more years (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). They belong among principal predators of arthropods (Wilson 2000) and play a significant role as herbivores (Cherrett 1986). They have a profound influence in soil turnover and soil properties (Grimaldi & Engel 2005, Werner & Wiezik 2007). The earliest information on the fauna of Iranian ants is given in the work of Farahbakhsh (1961), where he indicates four species: Camponotus ligniperda (Latreille, 1802), Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1791), Tapinoma karavaievi Emery, 1925 and Cataglyphus sp. Modarres Awal (1997 and 2012) listed 16 species in 9 genera, and 56 species in 17 genera, respectively. Paknia et al. (2008) listed 110 species in 26 genera ISSN 1587-1908 (Print); ISSN 2062-9990 (Online)
