Three Species of Genus Lepisiota (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with New Distributional Records from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Three Species of Genus Lepisiota (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with New Distributional Records from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Kiran Shahjeer1*, Gauhar Rehman1, Khurshaid Khan1 and Toheed Iqbal2
ABSTRACT
A study on the ant fauna of north-western part comprising of the hilly colder mountains in the North to the Dry hot plains in the South of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan was conducted during 2017-2020. Area was surveyed and collection of worker ants from the area was hired by using pitfall traps, aspirator and hand picking with the help of forceps. The study revealed that three species belonging to genus Lepisiota as a major outcome of this taxonomic study. The species include L. frauenfeldi, L. simplex, L. opaca and its sub-species L. o. pulchella. Among them two species viz., L. simplex, L. opaca and a subspecies of L. opaca i.e. L. o. pulchella are reported as first distributional records from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Keys to the subfamilies of Family Formicidae and worker caste species of genus Lepisiota collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along with its spatial distributional map for all species and a sub-species is provided. All the specimen are deposited at Insect Museum, Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan. From the study, it is concluded that the fauna of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is rich in ant species. Species diversity and abundance are expected more diverse collections in these and other similar areas. These findings can be strengthened by modern techniques of molecular identification.
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