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Diversity of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at St. Xavier’s College Campus, Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India

Ant species are ecologically dominant in most terrestrial ecosystems. The present study deals with the diversity of ants at St. Xavier’s College Campus, Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India. Ants were sampled in four different locations from November, 2019 to February, 2020 with the help of different collection methods such as All-out Search Method (AOSM), baits trap (BT), Hand Collection Method (HCM), and Pitfall trap (PT). A total of eight species of ants belonging to three subfamilies-- Pseudomyrmicinae, Myrmicinae and Formicinae were recorded in the study area. Indices of relative abundance and density are commonly used to assess the status of species. The relative abundance of ant species was calculated. The most dominant subfamily was Myrmicinae (4 genera with 4 species), which is followed by Formicinae (2 genera with 3 species). Pseudomyrmicinae was found in small number (one genus with only one species). The relative abundances of subfamilies Oecophylla smaragdina, Tertaponera rufonigra and Solenopsis geminata were 22.7%, 15.95%, 15.6%, respectively. Keywords: Ants survey, Diversity, Distribution, Species abundance, Formicidae, Species diversity