Fire-Ants of the Solenopsis saevissima Species-Group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Nesting in Parks in the city of Sao Paulo: Identification Based on mtDNA Sequences and Morphological Characters

摘要

The ants of Solenopsis saevissima species-group are economically important because of the damage caused by their spread in places where they have been introduced. They have been very well studied in North America, where some species have become pests,but few studies are found in Brazil. In this country, some punctual severe infestations have occurred in recent years. The species are morphologically difficult to identify and molecular analysis becomes a useful tool in specific identification. This study aimed to evaluate the species that nest in parks in the city of Sao Paulo. We evaluated workers from 64 nests and identified four different haplotypes. Two of them showed a greater similarity to sequences of S. invicta deposited in GenBank, and the other two with sequences of S. saevissima. Morphological analysis did not distinguish the two species, through worker investigation.