Abstract:
Ants are very common group of insects and constitute up to 20% of the animal biomass in
tropical region. About 65 genera, 12 subfamilies and 210 species were recorded from Sri
Lanka. Majority of ants belongs to the subfamily Myrmicinae and Formicinae. Ants play
essential roles in ecosystem functioning by inhabiting in divers microhabitats. The
objective of the present study is to identify the species of ants and their preferable habitats
in four selected locations in Wellamadama premises of University of Rununa and the study
was conducted from April to September year 2009. Four major locations (forest habitat, grassy habitat, indoor habitat and outdoor habitat) were selected in the study sites. Four sub sampling units in each location were used to collect data. Recorded each ant species was collected manually by a fine pointed (No. 1) paint brush. Shape of the head, thorax and abdomen, structure of the antenna and
arrangement of hairs in the abdominal tip and number of nodes of ants were used for
identification. Identified species were confirmed using taxonomic keys. The habitats of
each ant species were recorded based on occurrence of their nests.
