A preliminary report on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) recovered from forensic entomological studies conducted in different ecological habitats in Malaysia

摘要

This study reported the ant species that were recovered from monkey carcassesin three different ecological habitats in Malaysia. The study was conducted from 9 May – 10October 2007, 6 May – 6 August 2008 and 26 May – 14 July 2009 in forested area (Gombak,Selangor), coastal area (Tanjong Sepat, Selangor) and highland area (Bukit Cincin, Pahang),respectively. Monkey carcass was used as a model for human decomposition in this study. Atotal of 4 replicates were used in each of the study sites. Ants were observed to prey on eggs,larvae, pupae and newly emerged flies. This study found that ant species could be found at allstages of decomposition, indicating that ants were not a significant indicator for faunalsuccession. However, different species of ants were obtained from monkey carcasses placedin different ecological habitats. Cardiocondyla sp. was only found on carcasses placed in thecoastal area; while Pheidole longipes, Hypoponera sp. and Pachycondyla sp. were solelyfound on carcasses placed in the highland area. On the other hand, Pheidologeton diversusand Paratrechina longicornis were found in several ecological habitats. These data suggeststhat specific ant species can act as geographic indicators for different ecological habitats inforensic entomology cases in Malaysia.