ASIAN
MYRMECOLOGY

Asian Myrmecology, Volume 5, pages 103-112, published March 2013
DOI: 10.20362/am.005011

Seasonal patterns in ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) activity in a forest habitat of the West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, India

HOLDINGSTONE KHARBANI & SUDHANYA RAY HAJONG*

Abstract:

Seasonal variation in ant activity was studied in a subtropical humid forest of Meghalaya, northeast India, using pitfall traps as the sampling method. A total of 108,733 ant individuals were collected during sampling, consisting of 28 species in 18 genera. Subfamilies comprised Myrmicinae (12 species), Formicinae (eight), Ponerinae (five), Dorylinae, Cerapachyinae and Dolichoderinae (one species each). Number of species recorded was highest during spring and summer and lowest during winter. Number of individuals and species diversity per sample was lower during winter and higher during summer. Number of individuals, species richness and Shannon entropy per sample varied significantly among seasons.

Keywords:

Ant, seasonal activity, forest habitat, Meghalaya, India

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Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong-793 022, India

*Corresponding author: s_hajong@hotmail.com