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Ant pitfall catches in dry ecosystems of North Rhine-Westphalia. – In general, it is rare to conduct ant surveys and thus a good way to gather data of analysing the bycatch of pitfall traps. In all, 25 study sites in 11 investigation areas were sampled continuously from August 2006 to July 2008. Altogether 5,021 individuals (4,798 workers and 223 gynes) of 27 ant species were captured. Formica sanguinea was the most abundant species, while other highly frequent species were Myrmica sabuleti, M. ruginodis, and Lasius niger. 13 species are listed in the Red List of North Rhine-Westphalia. Faunistically interesting species wereMyrmica lonae, Tapinoma ambiguum, and F. truncorum. Although based on bycatches of pitfall traps only, the results of this study thoroughly improved the present faunistical ant dataset of North Rhine-Westphalia. Hence, this corroborates the assumption that an analysis of bycatch data is most valuable and therefore should be integrated in further pitfall trap studies. |
