Introduction

Ants are a little-noticed but important part of the tallgrass prairie fauna. There are perhaps 100 species of ants that may be found in prairie tracts over the whole region, of which about 60 are typically found in prairies (Table 1). In a good-sized prairie remnant, 25-35 of these occur together, somewhat fewer than the number of, say, butterfly species, but individual ants are so numerous that they collectively outweigh many other prairie insect groups. In one Oklahoma prairie, ants were among the top three prairie insect groups, their biomass exceeding that of grasshoppers (Kucera 1991). This paper briefly reviews the ecological roles of ants in prairies, their biogeographic and taxonomic characteristics, and their relationships to prairie restoration and management activities.

Trager, James C.  1998.  An introduction to ants (Formicidae) of 
     the tallgrass prairie.  Missouri Prairie Journal. Vol. 18:4-8.

Trager, James C.  1998.  An introduction to ants (Formicidae) of 
     the tallgrass prairie.  Missouri Prairie Journal. Vol. 18:4-8.  
     Jamestown, ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.  
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/1999/ants/ants.htm
     (Version 17MAY99).

Table of Contents

• The Ecology of Prairie Ants
  
• The Origins and Taxonomy of the Prairie Ant Fauna
  
• Ants and Prairie Restoration
  
• References Cited
  

• Table 1 - Characteristic Ants of Tallgrass Prairies

ants.zip ( 13K bytes) -- An Introduction to Ants (Formicidae)of the Tallgrass Prairie

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