article · SUNScholar (Stellenbosch University)
Linepithema humile, commonly known as the Argentine ant, is an invasive pest originally from subtropical South America that has established populations across the globe. Mapping records from over 2,100 sites provides an updated assessment of its worldwide distribution while filtering out previously misidentified species records. The pest is predominantly documented in subtropical areas with Mediterranean-style climates, including parts of southern Africa, Australia, California, and the Mediterranean basin. In humid subtropical zones, it is mostly confined to urban environments, whereas in temperate regions it acts primarily as an indoor pest, and in tropical latitudes it thrives only at higher elevations. While the ant has colonised most suitable subtropical lowland regions, many climatically suitable tropical highlands remain uninvaded. Modern air transport now facilitates global cargo movement, which is expected to drive further spread.
Understanding the global distribution and climate preferences of the Argentine ant helps identify ecosystems and regions most vulnerable to biological invasions. Because modern air travel makes stowaway introduction via cargo much easier, tracing current footholds allows biosecurity authorities and environmental managers to anticipate where this widespread pest could establish next, especially in vulnerable high-elevation tropical habitats.
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The Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (MAYR, 1868), originally from subtropical South America, is an important pest in many parts of the world. To evaluate its worldwide distribution and potential for further spread, we mapped records of L. humile from > 2100 sites. Because several South and Central American Linepithema species have been often mis-identified as L. humile, we excluded all unconfirmed South and Central American records. We documented the earliest known L. humile records for 95 geographic areas (countries, island groups, major islands, and US states), including several for which we found no previously published records. We could not confirm any L. humile records from several South and Central American countries with published reports. \nMost records of L. humile come from the subtropics, particularly from regions with Mediterranean-like climates (i.e., warm dry summers and cool moist winters), including its native range in South America and exotic populations in Cali-fornia, the Mediterranean, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In more humid subtropical areas, such as the southeast US, L. humile rarely dominates outside urban areas. In tropical latitudes, L. humile dominates only at higher elevations, most notably in Hawaii. In temperate areas, L. humile is almost exclusively an indoor pest. \nLinepithema humile has already spread to most subtropical lowland regions with Mediterranean-like climates, but is not known yet from most tropical highland areas with suitable climates. In the past, L. humile probably arrived in tropical regions by sea accompanying human commerce and had to survive coastal lowland conditions before spreading to higher, cooler elevations. Nowadays air travel allows L. humile to stowaway in cargo delivered almost anywhere in the world. Therefore, a wider spread of this pest is expected in the future.
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DOI: 10.25849/myrmecol.news_012:187
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