Ants

Over 60 ant species have been documented in White Pine County, Nevada, and 23 of these have been found in the park. Many more species likely occur in the park but have yet to be documented. Close inspection of the ground and plants in almost any corner of the park will reveal ants.

Although often seen as annoyances, ants play important roles in almost all ecosystems, including those in and around Great Basin National Park. In the Great Basin, ants are important predators of other small insects and invertebrates, and they turn over and aerate the soil as much as or more than earthworms. They are also major consumers and dispersers of seeds, especially the aptly named harvester ants, of which two species are local.

Harvester ants (genus Pogonomrymex) are also infamous for their painful stings. Although many ants bite with their powerful mandibles when agitated, some ants also stings like wasps or bees. Stinging ants first bite their victims to gain leverage for pressing their stingers through exoskeletons or skin, followed by injection of venom. Harvester ant venom is the most toxic venom known, and is three to twelve times more potent than bee and wasp venoms, depending on the ant species. Although ant stings can be painful, you are very unlikely to experience one without deliberately disturbing a colony.

Ants of Great Basin National Park and White Pine County, Nevada

Family Formicidae

Subfamily Dolichoderinae

• Forelius pruinosus

Subfamily Formicinae

• Camponotus laevigatus
• Camponotus modoc
• Camponotus sansabeanus
• Camponotus sayi
• Camponotus semitestaceus
• Camponotus vicinus
• Formica argentea*
• Formica dakotensis*
• Formica densiventris*
• Formica fusca
• Formica haemorrhoidalis
• Formica hewitti*
• Formica lasioides
• Formica manni
• Formica neoclara*
• Formica neogagates
• Formica neorufibarbis
• Formica nevadensis*
• Formica obscuripes
• Formica obscuriventris*
• Formica obtusopilosa
• Formica oreas
• Formica planipilis*
• Formica puberula
• Formica subelongata
• Formica subnitens
• Formica subnuda*
• Formica subpolita
• Formica subsericea*
• Lasius alienus
• Lasius crypticus
• Lasius flavus*
• Lasius pallitarsis*
• Lasius sitiens*
• Lasius subumbratus*
• Myrmecocystus hammettensis
• Myrmecocystus pyramicus
• Myrmecocystus testaceus
• Polyergus breviceps

Subfamily Myrmicinae

• Aphaenogaster occidentalis
• Aphaenogaster uinta*
• Crematogaster mormonum
• Leptothorax crassipilis*
• Leptothorax muscorum*
• Leptothorax nevadensis
• Leptothorax rugatulus*
• Leptothorax tricarinatus*
• Manica mutica
• Monomorium minimum*
• Myrmica americana
• Myrmica emeryana*
• Myrmica fracticornis*
• Myrmica incompleta
• Myrmica lobifrons
• Pheidole pilifera
• Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
• Pogonomyrmex salinus
• Solenopsis molesta
• Veromessor lobognathus

Subfamily Dolichoderinae

• Tapinoma sessile

*Species identified within Great Basin National Park.

References

Wheeler, G. C. and J. N. Wheeler. 1986. The Ants of Nevada. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles.

Baggs, J. E. 1993. Annotated bibliography of biological collections from Great Basin National Park: Volume I (Flora) and Volume II (Fauna). Cooperative Park Studies Unit, UNLV, Las Vegas.