Samsum ant, Brachyponera sennaarensis (Formicidae: Ponerinae): Distribution and abundance in Saudi Arabia.
Invasive species are capable of causing considerable damage to natural ecosystems, agriculture and economies throughout the World. Samsum ant, Brachyponera (Pachycondyla) sennaarensis has been a reason for medical implication and social nuisance through its poisonous and severely painful sting causing anaphylactic shock in many cases. We surveyed for the presence of the samsum ant in various provinces of Saudi Arabia. B. sennaarensis was the abundant Ponerinae species in human settlements. In the Eastern provinces, however, few samples were collected, and none were found in the Northern and Western provinces. Infestations of B. sennaarensis were particularly severe in the spring and summer seasons, when the ants make nests in moist areas and in cracks in cemented structures, whereas the extent of infestation reduced in winter seasons.
Department of Zoology, College of Science, P.O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Saleh
MS
Al-Khalifa
Department of Zoology, College of Science, P.O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia ; Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt.
Ashraf Mohamed Ali
AM
Mashaly
Department of Zoology, College of Science, P.O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Iqbal
MI
Siddiqui
Department of Zoology, College of Science, P.O. Box 2455, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia ; Department of Agricultural Production, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Thamar University, Yemen.
Fahd Abdu
FA
Al-Mekhlafi
Brachyponera (Pachycondyla) sennaarensis; Distribution; Ponerinae; Samsum ant; Saudi Arabia