A Faunistic and Taxonomic Study of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Shenzhen Municipality

In order to reveal the characters of ant fauna in Shenzhen Municipality, 32 255 ant specimens were collected through sampleplot method from 9 vegetation types and 11 habitats with the altitude between 3m to 944 m from 6 executive districts of Shenzhen Municipality. 35 species belonging to 18 genera and 4 subfamilies of Formicidae were taxonomically identified. Among which, 14 species are new records to Guangdong Province; Hypoponera opaciceps(Mayr) is a new record species to mainland of China. The ant species list was made and the geographical distributions were described, which laid an important foundation for the analyses on the distribution types of the local ant species and the fauna composition. The ant fauna of Shenzhen Municipality has a typical Oriental character and 13 species had invasive ability. Solenopsis invicta Buren is the most dangerous invasive species with strong ability in breeding and spreading, and difficult to control. It is necessary to pay special attention to the prevention and control of the species in the future.