''Lepisiota canescens'' is a species of ant in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Formicinae The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development. Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and little ...

which is native to southern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Supercolonies spanning as much as 38 kilometres have been found. Scientists believe that this ant species has the potential of spreading all over the world and posing threats to other ants.

Colonies and adaptability

The supercolonies were first discovered by a team of myrmecologists from the

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeastern United States. It is the oldest established museum in North Carolina, located in Raleigh. In 2013, it had about 1.2 million visitors, and i ...

. D. Magdalena Sorger, a member of the team, has stated that the discovery of these species is significant for two (and now various) reasons. First, cases of finding super colonies are extremely rare, with only around 20 worldwide species having the ability to do so. And second, other species in the genus ''Lepisiota'' have recently made worrisome headlines all around the world. What is even more frightening about this fact, is that ''L. canescens'' is now far more invasive and destructive than its southern and western African counterparts ''L. capensis'' and ''L. angolensis''. The species can now be found in 25 different countries apart from Ethiopia. ''L. canescens'' has even been able to grab a ride on a cargo ship, and are now found evenly invasively distributed throughout

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Impact

The species has mainly been spread by humans. In its introduced range, ''L. canescens'' will most probably displace at least one other ant species native to the region. In Ethiopia alone, several species of ''

Pheidole ''Pheidole'' is a genus of ants that belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is widespread and ecologically dominant. It probably includes more than 1000 species. The genus first evolved in the Americas, eventually spreading across th ...

'' have been adversely affected by the invasive appearances of ''L. canescens''.

References

External links

* Formicinae Hymenoptera of Africa Insects described in 1897 {{formicinae-stub