Anochetus mayri, a New World trap-jaw ant, is widespread in South and Central America and the West Indies. The only published records of A. mayri outside the tropics (>23.4° latitude) are from six sites in Florida (25.2° to 26.7°N) and two in the Bahamas (24.4° and 25.1°N), where it appears to be a recently introduced exotic species. The northernmost published record of A. mayri comes from Pine Jog Environmental Learning Center in West Palm Beach, Florida (26.7°N), discovered in 2002. Here, we report 40 additional site records of A. mayri in Florida ranging from 26.7° to 27.8°N in six Florida counties (Palm Beach, Martin, St Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee, and Highlands). We were surprised to find this otherwise tropical species so widespread and ubiquitous in subtropical areas of Florida north of its previously documented range. At sites where A. mayri is common, it may negatively impact other species.
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25 June 2018
Spread of the Non-Native Trap-Jaw Ant Anochetus mayri (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Florida
James K. Wetterer,
Mark A. Deyrup,
Andrew Bryant
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exotic species
geographic range
trap-jaw ants