Prior to European settlement the southeastern United States had several regions dominated by grasslands or prairie (DeSelm and Murdock 1993, Peacock and Schauwecker 2003). One such region, called the

1
The Ant (Hymenoptera Formicidae) Fauna of Black
Belt Prairie Remnants in Mississippi and
AlabamaJoVonn G. Hill and Richard L.
BrownMississippi Entomological Museum,
Mississippi State University, Box 9775,
Mississippi State MS 39762
3

• Introduction
• Prior to European settlement the southeastern
  United States had several regions dominated by
  grasslands or prairie (DeSelm and Murdock 1993,
  Peacock and Schauwecker 2003). One such region,
  called the Black Belt,extends in an arc from
  McNairy County, Tennessee to Russell County,
  Alabama, and contains a heterogeneous landscape
  of prairies and several types of forest. Surveys
  conducted by the General Land Office in the
  1830s suggest that prairies once covered at
  least 144,000 hectares of the Black Belt (Barone
  2005). Since that time, it has been estimated
  that 99 of these prairies have been lost by
  suppression of fire, erosion, and agricultural
  and urban development, much like the midwestern
  prairies (Noss et al. 1995). The Mississippi
  Natural Heritage Program gives Black Belt Prairie
  remnants a ranking of S1, meaning they are
  "critically imperiled" within the state due to
  extreme rarity or factors making their biota
  vulnerable to extirpation (Mississippi Museum of
  Natural Science 2002). Today small remnants of
  these prairies may be found along roadsides,
  fencerows, gas, rail, and powerline right of
  ways, and on marginal lands not suitable for
  agriculture. These remaining prairie remnants
  support a diverse and distinct flora and fauna
  including endemic species of insects as well as
  populations of plants and insects that otherwise
  are found primarily in the Great Plains.
• Ants are typically the most dominant and
  influential force in terrestrial ecosystems, and
  as such, may be among the most promising groups
  of animals for inclusion in community-based
  studies due to their contributions to ecosystem
  function (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990) Given the
  ecological importance of ants, documentation of
  the ant fauna of endangered ecosystems, such as
  the Black Belt Prairie, could provide useful
  information for guiding current management and
  future conservation/restoration projects in those
  systems.

Results A total of 53 ant species and the
hybrid fire ant, Solenopsis invicta x richteri,
representing 6 subfamilies and 25 genera were
collected (Table 1). The imported fire ants (S.
invicta and S. invicta x richteri) and
Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr were the only
exotic species collected. The most diverse
subfamilies included the Myrmicinae with 28
species and the Formicinae with 14 species. The
most diverse genera were Pyramica with six
species and Pheidole with five species The
species collected at the most sites was
Monomorium minimum (Buckley) (23 sites), followed
by Forelius mccooki (Roger) (17 sites) and
Pheidole tysoni Forel and Solenopsis molesta
(Say) (16 sites both). Imported fire ants were
collected at all the sites with the hybrid fire
ant, S. invicta x richteri, occurring at the
sites from Plum Creek northward (16 sites), while
the red fire ant, S. invicta Buren was collected
south of the Plum Creek site (7 sites). Two
species found in this survey, Hyponera inexorata
(Wheeler) and Pheidole lamia Wheeler, are new
state records for Alabama. The number of species
at sites ranged from a low of three at the County
Road 37 site to highs of 28, 26, and 24, at the
Osborn, Crawford, and Tombigbee sites (Figure 2)
respectively. The mean number of species per site
was 12.35, and 10 of the sites contained at least
this many species.
Table 1. The list presented is arranged by
subfamily, tribe, and genus according to Bolton
(2003). Names follow Bolton (1995), except
Dorymyrmex, which follows Snelling (1995)
Pyramica, which follows Bolton (2000) and
Pheidole, which follows Wilson (2003). Site
numbers and locations are given in Figure 1. An
denotes that this species was found in the
collection of the MEM from pitfall traps run in
the early 1990s.
Family Formicidae Subfamily Dolichoderinae
         Dolichoderus pustulatus Mayr Sites
7, 11,22. Dorymyrmex smithi McCook Sites 17,
21. Forelius mccooki (McCook) (Fig. 4.1) Sites
2-7, 10-12, 14-18, 20-22. Tapinoma sessile
(Say) (Fig. 4.2) Sites 3, 10, 11. Subfamily
Formicinae Lasius neoniger Emery Site
11. Brachymyrmex depilis Emery Sites 2, 14,
15, 20, 22 Brachymyrmex patagonicus Mayr
Sites 13, 21-23. Paratrechina arenivaga
(Wheeler) Sites 5, 7, 11, 12, 14,
16. Paratrechina vividula (Nylander) Sites
1-4, 7, 8, 11-22. Prenolepis imparis Emery
Sites 5, 12. Camponotus castaneus (Latreille)
Sites 5, 7, 11. Camponotus decipiens Emery
Sites 5,15. Camponotus impressus (Roger) Site
7. Camponotus  mississippiensis Smith Sites
12, 13, 19. Formica dolosa Buren Sites 1, 2,
4, 5, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18. Polyergus montivagus
Wheeler Site 5. Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae Pse
udomyrmex pallidus (Smith) Sites 17, 20,
22. Pseudomyrmex seminole Ward Sites 20,
21. Subfamily Ponerinae Hypoponera inexorata
(Wheeler) (Fig. 4.6) Sites 6, 7, 13, 15, 19,
20. Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr) Sites 1, 11,
15, 16, 19, 21. Hypoponera opacior (Forel)
Sites 3, 5, 7, 10-19, 22. Ponera pennsylvanica
Buckley Sites 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11. Subfamily
Proceratiinae Proceratium pergandei (Emery)
Site 7. Subfamily Myrmicinae Pyramica
bimarginata (Wesson Wesson) Site
7. Pyramica creightoni (Smith) Sites 11, 12,
22. Pyramica dietrichi (Smith) Sites 11, 14,
17. Pyramica margaritae (Forel) Site
21. Pyramica membranifera (Emery) Site
20. Pyramica ornata (Mayr) Site 7. Pyramica
talpa (Weber) Sites 7, 11, 12, 13, 17,
22. Strumigenys louisianae Roger Sites 7, 8,
11. Cyphomyrmex rimosus (Spinola) Sites 21,
22. Trachymyrmex septentrionalis (McCook)
Sites 5, 7, 11. Monomorium minimum (Buckley)
Sites 1- 23. Solenopsis invicta Buren Sites
16-23. Solenopsis invicta x richteri (Fig.
4.5) Sites 1-15. Solenopsis c.f. molesta
(Say) Sites 1, 2, 5, 7-15, 18,
20-22. Solenopsis picta Emery Site
7. Aphaenogaster carolinensis Wheeler Sites 2,
11. Aphaenogaster flemingi Smith Site
5. Aphaenogaster treatae Forel Sites 5, 7, 11,
15. Pheidole bicarinata Mayr Sites 6, 12, 15,
18. Pheidole dentata Mayr Sites 1, 2, 5, 6, 7,
8, 11, 12, 15, 22. Pheidole lamia Wheeler
Site 15. Pheidole pilifera Roger (Figs.3, 4.3)
Sites 5, 7, 11. Pheidole tysoni Forel Sites 1,
2, 4-9, 11-13, 16, 18, 20-22. Crematogaster
ashmeadi Mayr Sites 7, 13. Crematogaster
lineolata (Say) (Fig. 4.4) Sites 2, 5-7, 11, 15,
17, 21, 22. Crematogaster missuriensis Emery
Sites1, 5, 8, 11-13, 17. Crematogaster pilosa
Emery Sites 5, 21, 22. Temnothorax
curvispinosus (Mayr) Sites 7, 12,
15. Temnothorax pergandei (Emery) Sites 2,
5-7, 11. Myrmecina americana Emery Sites 5,
7, 11, 13, 18, 20, 22.
Methods Twenty-three prairie remnants located
throughout the Black Belt (Figure 1) were
surveyed from June 2003 through July 2007. Sites
were chosen based on their accessibility and
their relative lack of anthropogenic disturbance.
Almost all of the sites are within or near the
boundaries of known historic prairies, as
described by Barone (2005) based on General Land
Office plat maps from the 1830s and 1840s.
(Figure 1.). Sites were sampled multiple times
across seasons and years using a variety of
collecting techniques including hand collecting,
baiting, litter sampling, and the use of pitfall
traps, to ensure that the sites had been sample
effectively. Specimens were collected in 90
ethanol, then were pinned, labeled, and
identified. Pitfall trap samples taken from the
Osborn and Crawford sites in the 1990s by the
Mississippi Entomological Museum (MEM) were also
searched for additional species that may occur in
prairie remnants. Voucher specimens were
deposited in the MEM.
Figure 3. Major worker of Pheidole pilifera in
prairie remnant in Tombigbee National Forest.
Figure 2. Black Belt Prairie remnant in Tombigbee
National Forest. (Site 5)
Literature Cited Barone, J. A. 2005. Historical
presence and distribution of prairies in the
Black Belt of Mississippi and Alabama.
Castanea 70 170-183. DeSelm, H. R. and N.
Murdock. 1993. Grass-dominated communities. Pp.
87-141. In Martin, W. H., S. G. Boyce, and
A. C. Echternacht (eds.). Biodiversity of the
Southeastern United States Upland
Terrestrial Communities. John Wiley and Sons,
Inc. New York. 373 pp. Holldöbler, B. and E. O.
Wilson. 1990. The Ants. Harvard University
Press. Cambridge, MA. 732 pp. Mississippi Museum
of Natural Science. Natural Heritage Inventory
Global and State Rankings.
http//www.mdwfp.com/museum/html/research/ranking.
asp. Accessed April, 2002. Noss, R. F., E. T.
LaRoe III, and J. M. Scott. 1995. Endangered
ecosystems of the United States a
preliminary assessment of loss and degradation.
United States Department of Interior, National
Biological Service, Biological Report 28.
Washington D.C. Peacock, E. and T. Schauwecker.
(eds) 2003. Blackland Prairies of the Gulf
Coastal Plain Nature, Culture, and
Sustainability. University of Alabama Press,
Tuscaloosa, AL. 348 pp.
Acknowledgements This project was supported by
the Mississippi Experiment Station Project
MIS-311080, USDA-ARS Areawide Management of the
Imported Fire Ant Project, and National Science
Foundation grants BSR-90204 and DEB-9200856. We
thank Joe MacGown for his aid in verifying
identifications and help producing the poster.
We thank Sarah McClure, Rebecca Jones, and
Savannah Duckworth for their assistance in
specimen preparation. We also thank the various
public land owners and public land managers who
allowed collections to be made on their lands.
Figure 1 was primarily produced by John Barone.
Figure 4. Selected species of ants 1. Forelius
mccooki (McCook) 2.Tapinoma sessile (Say) 3.
Pheidole pilifera (Roger) 4. Crematogaster
lineolata (Say) 5. Solenopsis invicta x
richteri 6. Hypoponera inexorata (Wheeler).
Figure 1. Map of historical prairie remnants
based on General Land Office Surveys in the
1930s (from Barone 2005) with site number,
location, and, in parentheses, the number of ant
species collected during this survey.