Lepisiota canescens

Lepisiota canescens is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae which is native to southern Ethiopia. Supercolonies spanning as much as 38 kilometres have been found. Scientists believe that this ant species has the potential of spreading all over the world and posing threats to other ants.

Lepisiota canescens
Lepisiota canescens worker from Madagascar
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Genus:	Lepisiota
Species:	L. canescens
Binomial name
Lepisiota canescens (Emery, 1897)

Colonies and adaptability

The supercolonies were first discovered by a team of myrmecologists from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. D. Magdalena Sorger, a member of the team, has stated that the discovery of these species is significant for two (and now various) reasons. First, cases of finding super colonies are extremely rare, with only around 20 worldwide species having the ability to do so. And second, other species in the genus Lepisiota have recently made worrisome headlines all around the world. What is even more frightening about this fact, is that L. canescens is now far more invasive and destructive than its southern and western African counterparts L. capensis and L. angolensis. The species can now be found in 25 different countries apart from Ethiopia. L. canescens has even been able to grab a ride on a cargo ship, and are now found evenly invasively distributed throughout Madagascar.

Impact

The species has mainly been spread by humans. In its introduced range, L. canescens will most probably displace at least one other ant species native to the region. In Ethiopia alone, several species of Pheidole have been adversely affected by the invasive appearances of L. canescens.

External links

• Media related to Lepisiota canescens at Wikimedia Commons