''Dorymyrmex bureni'', also known as Buren's pyramid ant, is a species of

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in the genus ''

Dorymyrmex ''Dorymyrmex'' (also known as cone ants or pyramid ants) is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Distribution and habitat This genus has a strictly American distribution, inhabiting in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions and conta ...

''. Described by Trager in 1988, the species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Pyramid ants are medium-sized ants, ranging from 2–4 mm. They are light orange in color and fast moving. Unlike other ant species in the area like the red imported fire ant (''

Solenopsis invicta ''Solenopsis invicta'', the fire ant, or red imported fire ant (RIFA), is a species of ant native to South America. A member of the genus '' Solenopsis'' in the subfamily Myrmicinae, it was described by Swiss entomologist Felix Santschi as a ...

''), this species is relatively harmless to humans and unable to sting. The workers have a foul smelling coconut odor when crushed. ''Dorymyrmex bureni'' hunt living insects, even other winged ants. They also search for sap-sucking insects from which they collect honeydew. On the head of these ants are curved hairs, used for transporting beads of damp sand. Colonies are small. Nests usually have a single entrance with a mound of sand shaped like a crater. ''Dorymyrmex bureni'' prefer sandy soil. This species of ant is not an indoor pest, and the use of

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

s to control them is not necessary. They are found throughout the southeastern United States.

Distribution

This species is almost entirely restricted to the Atlantic Coastal Plain, with populations extending to just outside the coastal plain in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The latitudinal range is continuous from the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

along the American east coast to coastal

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. There are disagreements in literature as to the westernmost extend of ''D. bureni'' populations, with some sources claiming

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and others claiming eastern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Modern verifiable records seem to stop around the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The disagreement on the westernmost extent of its range is likely due to the presence of the similar species '' Dorymyrmex flavus'' having a distribution that either borders or overlaps directly to the west of the range of ''D. bureni''. ''Dorymyrmex bureni'' is also introduced to the manmade island of

Ocean Cay Ocean Cay is an island in the Bahamas located in the district of Bimini. It is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Bimini proper. Ocean Cay is an artificial island which was built by dredging in the late 1960s by Dillingham Construction of ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

.https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=25.43270097269778&nelng=-79.16131882385363&place_id=any&quality_grade=research&subview=map&swlat=25.411383049565988&swlng=-79.24032597259631&taxon_id=319444

References

External links

* Dorymyrmex Hymenoptera of North America Insects described in 1988 {{Dorymyrmex-stub

Distribution

References

External links

Ant Keeping/Care