Brown-cheeked Ant
Monomorium sahlbergi
Species Info General
Other common names include: n/a
This bicolored ant is relatively new to the Islands, with the first record in 2005. Not much is known about it. Surveys conducted by Maui Invasive Species Committee suggest it is common but confined to low-rainfall areas from south Kihei to Kahului and around the leeward side of West Maui to at least Lahaina. Despite being present in the most populated parts of the island, complaints about this ant from the general public are almost non-existent.
Identification/Description
This is a small orangish-red ant with a distinctly darker gaster. Although it readily recruits in large numbers to protein-rich baits (like the peanut butter used as an attractant in surveys conducted by MISC and MoMISC), it seems to maintain a low profile and may fly under most observers’ radar.
Impacts
- Very little is known about this ant’s habits and potential impacts. As an ant that recruits in large numbers to baits placed in the environment, it appears to exist at high densities, which suggests that some sort of significant impact to biodiversity is inevitable. Whether these impacts are positive, negative or benign, however, is unknown.
History
- This species was first noted in the Islands in 2005 (Matsunaga et al. 2019). The first detection on Maui was in 2008 by Dr. Paul Krushelnycky of the University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa, who collected it near Nu’u on the leeward side of East Maui (Antweb.com CASENT0178876). It was collected on Kahoʻolawe in 2009, and Molokaʻi in 2010 (Starr & Starr 2011). It has not yet been recorded on Lānaʻi.
Resources/References
- Monomorium sahlbergi – AntWiki
- Matsunaga, J. N., Howarth, F. G. & Kumashiro, B. R. 2019. New State Records and Additions to the Alien Terrestrial Arthropod Fauna in the Hawaiian Islands. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 51(1): 1–71.
- Starr, F. & Starr, K. 2011. New arthropod records from Maui Nui. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 109: 35–42.
