Annual Research Symposium (ARS)
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Item Similarities and differences of the ant communities recorded from three types of habitats in Anuradhapura region(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Dias, R.K.S.; Peiris, H.A.W.S.Ants are very common in the regions of wet and dry zone but little is known about the similarities and differences of the ant communities observed in the lands, which are under different levels of disturbance. A survey in the dry zone was conducted from 3rd to 5111 of February, 2008, in three types of habitats, a forest (F), Anuradhapura Sanctuary (N 08° 201, E 080° 231 ), a teak cultivation (T ) in M a tale Handiya (N 08° 211, E 080° 261) and an uncultivated land (U), surrounding area of Nuwara weva (N 08° 211, E 080° 251), in Anuradhapura by soil and litter sifting, honey baiting, pitfall trapping and manual collection along five, 100 m transects laid in each type of habitat. Soil and litter sifting were carried out at 2.5 m intervals along each transect. Honey baits were placed at 2.5 m distance along each transect and collected into bottles filled with 70% ethanol after an hour. Manual collection was carried out at five minute intervals along each transect. Honey baited pitfall traps (20) were placed randomly to cover the whole sampling area and the traps were collected after five hours. All ants were preserved in the field in 70% ethanol. Worker ants were sorted and identified to the furthest possible taxonomic levels in the laboratory. Air (F: 29 °C- 31 °C; T: 29 °C- 30 °C; U: 30 °C- 31 °C) and soil temperatures (F: 28 °C- 31 °C; T: 28 °C- 30 °C; U: 28 °C- 29 °C) and soil moisture content (F: 4% - 8.3%; T: 1% - 3.3%; U: 0.9% - 4.8%) of each habitat were also measured. Dry weather persisted throughout the sampling period. Worker ants belonging to seven subfamilies, Aenictinae, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Leptanillinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae and Pseudomyrmecinae, and 49 species and morphospecies of ants were recorded during this survey. Crematogaster sp. 1 (F-1 %, T- 12%, U-1%), Crematogaster sp. 3 (F- 4%, T- 42%, U- 21%), Lepisiota sp. 2 (F- 0.04%, T- 0.1 %, U- 0.1 %), Meranoplus bicolor (F- 8%, T-10%, U-10%), Monomorium destructor (F- 0.2%, T- 0.5%, U- 0.7%), Myrmicaria brunnea (F- 0.04%, T- 4%, U-12%), Oecophylla smaragdina (F- 0.2%, T- 0.4%, U- 0.4%), Pachycondyla sp. 1 (F-0.1%, T- 1%, U- 0.3%), Paratrechina longicornis (F- 2%, T- 0.1%, U-2%), Paratrechina sp. 2 (F-0.1, T-0.5%, U- 1 %), Pheidole sp. 8 (F-62%, T- 0.2%, U- 13%), Solenopsis geminata (F- 6%, T- 0.2%, U-1%), Tetramorium sp. 3 (F- 1%, T- 18%, U- 6%), Tetramorium sp. 5 (F- 1%, T- 2%, U- 0.1 %) and Tetramorium sp. 7 (F- 1%, T- 6%, U-9%) were common to the three types of habitats (Similarity Co-efficient= 15.8%). Camponotus sp. 2 (0.3%), Crematogaster sp. 5 (0.02%), Crematogaster sp. 6 (0.1 %), Dolichoderus sp. 1 (0.1 %), Lepisiota sp. 3 (0.02%), Lepisiota sp. 4 (0.02%), Leptanilla sp. 2 (0.02%), Pheidole sp. 5 (0.1 %), Polyrhachis sp. 1 (0.02%), Protanilla sp. 1 (0.02%), Solenopsis sp. 1 (0.02%) Tetraponera rufonigra (0.1 %) and Tetramorium sp. 10 (0.1%) were restricted to the forest (H1= 0.7 1) while Anochetus sp. 3 (0.03%), Pheidole sp. 11 (0.1 %), Tapinoma sp. 3 (0.4%) and Tetramorium sp. 4 (0.2%) were observed only in the teak cultivation (Hi= 0.81). Anochetus sp. 2 (0.1 %), Aenictus sp. 1 (0.03%), Camponotus sp. 1 (0.1 %) and Harpegnathos sp. 1 (0.03%) were restricted to the surrounding area ofNuwara weva (Hi = 1). Presence of Leptanilla sp. 2 and Protanilla sp. 1 in a dry zone forest was observed for the first time and, the observation of Aenictus sp. 1 and Harpegnathos sp. 1 in a highly disturbed area was also an important record of this survey.Item Systematics and community composition of foraging worker ants (Family: Formicidae) collected from three habitats in a dry zone region of Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2008) Dias, R.K.S.; Kosgamage, K.R.K.A.Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) are an important and common biotic component in the wet zone of Sri Lanka. Eleven subfamilies, 57 genera and 123 morphospecies of ants have been recorded from the wet zone recently, but little is known about the ants that inhabit dry zone of Sri Lanka. A survey on the dry zone worker ants was carried out from 2"d to 3'd of November, 2007 in three types of habitats, a forest, Kahalla - Pallekele forest (N 08° 311 and E 080° 301), a bitter gourd cultivation (N 07° 511 and E 080° 3 71) and in an uncultivated land (N 07° 511 and E 080° 3 71) in Dam bulla by soil sifting, litter sifting, honey baiting and pitfall trapping along 'five transects laid in each of them. A 100 m transect was laid in the forest whereas a 50m transect was laid in the other two habitats due to the smaller area of the two lands. Soil sifting and litter sifting were carried out at 5 m distance along each transect. Ten honey baits were placed at 5 m intervals along each transect and the baits were collected after an hour. Tw enty, honey-baited pitfall traps were fixed randomly in the sampling area of each habitat and the traps were collected after five hours. All samples were preserved in 85% ethanol in the field. Worker ants were sorted and identified to the furthest possible taxonomic levels in the laboratory. Air (27 °C- 32 °C) and soil temperatures (27 °C- 33 °C) and soil moisture content (8.6% - 14.5%) of each habitat were also measured. Worker ants belonging to five subfamilies, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae and Pseudomyrmecinae and, 4 1 species and morphospecies of ants were recorded from the three habitats. The dolichoderines, Tapinoma indicum, Tapinoma melanocephalum, Technomyrmex albipes, the formicines, Anoplolepis gracilipes, Camponotus sp. 1, Camponotus sp. 2, Camponotus sp. 3, Camponotus sp. 4, Oeco'f.hylla smaragdina, Paratrechina longicornis, Polyrhachis sp. 1, Pseudolasius sp. , the myrm1cines, Calyptomyrmex sp. 1, Crematogaster sp. 1, Crematogaster sp. 2, Lophomyrmex sp. 1, Meranoplus bicolor, Monomorium destructor, Monomorium sp. 1, Pheidole sp. 1, Pheidole sp. 2, Pheidole sp. 3, Pheidole sp. 4, Pheidole sp. 5, Pheidole sp. 6, Solenopsis geminata, Solenopsis sp. 1, Strumigenys sp. 1, Tetramorium sp. 1, Tetramorium sp. 2, Tetramorium sp. 3, Tetramorium sp. 4, Tetramorium sp. 5, Tetramorium sp. 6, Tetramorium sp. 7, the ponerines, Anochetus sp. 1, Hypoponera sp. 1, Pachycondyla sp. 1, Platythyrea sp. 1 and the pseudomyrmecines, Tetraponera allaborans and Tetraponera rufonigra were observed in these three types of habitats. Tapinoma melanocephalum, Anoplolepis gracilipes, Paratrechina longicornis, Crematogaster sp. 1, Solenopsis geminata, Tetramorium sp. 1, Tetramorium sp. 3 and Tetramorium sp. 7 were observed m considerable proportions whereas others were found in less than 4% proportions. Significant differences were observed among the frequencies of ant species recorded in this study (Chi-square test; p< 0.05) and, Tetramorium sp. 7 (28%), Tetramorium sp. 3 ( 13.4%) and Solenopsis geminata ( 10.9%), were the dominant species observed in Dambulla region. The ponerines were observed in the forest and the uncultivated land but they were not observed in the bitter gourd cultivation. The pseudomyrmecines were not observed in the uncultivated land. Tapinoma melanocephalum, Paratrechina longicornis, Crematogaster sp.l, Meranoplus bicolor, Monomorium destructor, Pheidole sp. 1, Tetramorium sp. 1, Tetramorium sp. 3 and Tetramorium sp. 4 were common to these sites. W hen compared with the prevwus record on dry zone ants, the presence of two pseudomyrmecines is a new observation and the absence of aenictines in current habitats was also noticeable.Item Diversity of Worker Ant Communities (Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae) in Non-Agricultural Lands in Ratnapura District(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Dias, R.K.S.; Perera, K.A.M.An ant survey (Jan., 2004 · Dec., 2005) conducted in the forests and some selected agricultural lands in Ratnapura district for the preparation of an inventory and to locate the habitats of the endemic ant, Aneuretus simoni Emery, was extended to nonagricultural lands in the district, from January to June in 2006. Worker ants were sampled along three transects laid in such a land in Kuruwita (January), Dumbaramanana (February), Godakawela (March), Ambilipitiya (April), Balangoda (June) and Nivithigala (June). Along each 100 m transect, twenty five honey baits were kept at four metre intervals and collected after an hour into bottles filled with 85% ethanol. In addition, ants sampled by soil sifting (20) and hand collection (1 0) at 4 m intervals were also preserved in 85% ethanol. Ants were sorted, identified to the possible taxonomic levels and enumerated in the laboratory. Air (23°- 35° C) and soil temperatures (22° - 33 °C), soil moisture content (17% - J7%) and soil organic matter (2% - 9%) of each site were also recorded. Although members of six subfamilies, Amblyoponinae, Cerapachyinae, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Ponerinae and, fifty six species and morphospecies of ants were recorded, Aneuretus simoni (Subfamily: Aneuretinae) was never observed during this study. Significantly different Species Richness values (chi square test; p< 0.05) were recorded for the lands in Kuruwita (18), Dumbaramanana (19), Godakawela (28), Ambilipitiya (17), Balangoda (29) and Nivithigala (26). Technomyrmex albipes (36.8%) dominated the Kuruwita ant community while Pachycondyla sp. 2, Monomorium sp." 2 and Paratrechina longicornis were observed in considerable (>5%) proportions. Pheidole sp. 2 was dominant in Dumbaramanana whereas Tapinoma melanocephalum (24.8%), Technomyrmex bicolor (12.6%), Myrmicaria brunnea (10.4%) and Technomyrmex albipes (5.9%) were also observed in considerable proportions. Tapinoma melanocephalum was the dominant species recorded from Godakawela (28.9%) and Nivithigala (27%) study sites. In addition, Pheidole sp. 2 (10.9%) and Pheidole sp. 3 (10.9%) in Godakawela and Camponotus sp. 2 (11.4%) & Paratrechina longicornis (9.3%) in Nivithigala were observed in considerable proportions. The dominant ant species observed in Ambilipitiya and Balangoda were Anoplolepis gracilipes (72.9%) and Pheidole sp. 2 (36.9%), respectively. Considerable proportions of Tetramorium bicarinatum (9%) in Ambilipitiya and Pheidole sp. 4 (12.9%) in Balangoda were also observed. Anoplolepis gracilipes and Meranoplus bicolor were the species common to six disturbed regions and this observation indicated that these species may have a value as biological indicators of disturbance. The ponerines, Anochetus spp., Cryptopone spp., Diacamma ceylonense, D. indicum, Hypoponera spp., Leptogenys spp., Odontomachus simillimus, Pachycondyla spp. and Platythyrea sp., when present, were always observed in very low proportions. Although the reasons for the presence of different ant communities in the six lands were not investigated in detail it is apparent that each ant community observed in each land could be a reflection of the environmental quality of each land. Members of Subfamily Aenictinae, which were recorded from forests in Ratnapura were not observed in these lands.Item Worker Ant Communities (Order: Hymenoptera; Family: Formicidae) of Two Disturbed Forests in Anuradhapura District(University of Kelaniya, 2007) Dias, R.K.S.; Gunathilake, M.K.C.G.Ants are an ecologically important group of insects in the forests but there is no information on ants that inhabit dry zone forests of Sri Lanka. A survey on dry zone forest ants \Vas carried out by laying five 50 m transects in a forest in Anuradhapura ~ 12 - 3 p.m.) and another forest in Thambuthtliegama (11 - 2 p.m.) on the 2i11 and 28" of April in 2006, respectively. Worker ants in ten soil samples (W: 5 em L: 5 em D: 5 em) that were taken at 5 m distance along each transect, were collected by sifting with a sieve and a white tray. All worker ants fallen into the tray were preserved in 85(Yo ethanol. Ten honey baits \'vere kept at 5 m intervals along each transect and collected into vials filled with 85% ethanol, after an hour. Worker ants were sorted, identified to the lowest possible taxonomic levels and enumerated in the laboratory. Air (A: 29 oc - 30 ac; T: 31.5 oc - 32.5 °C) and soil temperatures (A: 30 oc ·- 31 oc; T: 29 oc - 29.5 °C) and soil moisture content (A: 9.4%- 14.4%; T: 9.6% -16%) of each forest were also recorded. Worker ants belonging to four subfamilies, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae Myrmicinae, and Ponerinae were observed in both forests but subfamily Aenictinac was restricted to Anuradhapura forest. Cumulative Species Richness values recorded by soil sifting reached twenty one and thirteen for Anuradhapura and Thamhuththegama forests. respectively: honey baiting recorded eighteen and eleven for the two forests. Species Richness observed by the two methods was twenty seven in J\nuradhapura forest and eighteen in Thambuththegama forest whereas cumulative Species Richness was thirty two for the two forests. Two dolichoderines, Tapinoma indicum and Technomyrmex albipes and a formicine. Paratrechina longicornis were recorded from both forests. Also, the myrmicines. Crematogaster sp. 1, lvferanop!us bicolor, Monomorium destructor, Monomorium sp. 1. Monomorium sp. 3, Pheido!e sp. 3, Tetramorium bicarinatum and Tetramorium sp. 1 and. the ponerine, Pachycondyla sp. 1 were among the species common to both forests. The Aenictines, Aenictus sp. 1 and Aenictus sp. 2, a dolichoderine, Tapinoma melanocephalum, and two formicines, Camponotus sp. 1 & Oecophylla smaragdina were restricted to J\nuradhapura forest only. In addition. the myrmicines, Monomorium sp. 2, Myrmicaria hrunnea, Oligomyrmex sp. 1, Pheidole sp. 1, Solenopsis sp. 1 and Strumigenys sp. 1 and, the ponerines C 'ryptopone sp. 1 and Leptogenys sp. 1 were recorded only from Anuradhapura forest. The dolichodcrine, Technomyrmex sp. 1, two formicines, Lepisiota sp. 1 & Paratrechina sp. 1 and the myrmicines, Pheidole sp. 5 & Tetramorium sp. 4 were restricted to Thambuththegama forest. Myrmicaria brunnea (70.6%) was the sole dominant species in the Anuradhapura forest (chi-square test, p<0.05) whereas Technomyrmex albipes (37.2%), Crematogaster sp. 1 (25.2%) and Pheidole sp. 3 (17.8%) were dominant among the worker ant fauna in Thambuththegama forest (chi-square test, p<0.05). These results revealed that diverse ant fauna survive in the dry zone forests and the ant community present in any forest may be unique to the level of disturbance and quality of the environment of that forest.Item Ants as Biological Indicators of Human Disturbance – evidence from Sinharaja forest and tea and rubber fields in Ratnapura district(University of Kelaniya, 2006) Dias, R.K.S.; Perera, K.A.M.Ants are a major group of insects in the forests as well as in agricultural fields in Sri Lanka. If the presence or absence of some ant taxa in disturbed areas differs from that of a forest reserve was investigated by sampling worker ants from tea and rubber fields in Godakawela and the primary and secondary forest regions in Sinharaja forest in September and October, 2005, respectively. Heavy rains prevailed during the sampling on both occasions. Honey baiting (25), soil sifting (10), hand collection (10) and litter sifting (10) during day time and pitfall trapping (10) at night along a 100 m transect were carried out in the forest while all of those methods except litter sifting were carried out in the tea and rubber fields. Depth of litter, soil moisture content and temperature and air temperature were also recorded. Worker ants belonging to seven subfamilies, Aneuretinae, Amblyoponinae, Cerapachyinae or Leptanillinae, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Ponerinae were recorded from the primary and secondary forest regions whereas five subfamilies, Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae and Pseudomyrmicinae were observed in both tea and rubber fields. Worker ants of subfamily Amblyoponinae were recorded from rubber fields but they were not observed in the tea fields. Thirty two morphospecies of ants from the primary forest region and twenty seven morphospecies from the secondary forest region were observed during this study. Thirty and thirty four morphospecies of ants were recorded from tea and rubber fields, respectively. Although Species Richness values did not show significant difference (p>0.05) for the four types of ecosystems, it was evident that Anoplolepis gracilipes (Jerdon), Diacamma rugosum Mayr, Meranoplus bicolor (Smith F.), Odontomachus simillimus Smith F., Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius and Tetraponera rufonigra (Smith F.) could be considered as biological indicators of disturbance as they were restricted to tea and rubber fields. Also, Aneuretus simoni Emery, Technomyrmex bicolor Emery, Anochetus sp. and Leptogenys spp. were restricted to the two types of forest regions but further research would be carried out to confirm these observations.Item Taxonomic key for the direct identification of some mayfly nymphs (Order: Ephemeroptera) of Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2000) Dias, R.K.S.; Wijenayake, K.Item Impacts of burning a forest area and the burning followed by chena cultivation on the nest density, Species richness and community of ants in Kekirawa(Research Symposium 2009 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2009) Dias, R.K.S.; Kosgamage, K. R. K. A.Burning of forest areas for chena cultivation is a common practice in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. How ants respond to environmental disturbances such as burning of a forest area and burning followed by chena cultivation is not well-documented and this investigation was focused on investigating the differences in nest density and Species Richness of ants that inhabited 50 m × 50 m area of each of the three regions, a forest (F), a burned forest area (B) and a vegetable cultivation (C) in Kekirawa. Fifty, 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrats were laid randomly throughout each region on the 30th January, 2009. The selected forest area and the cultivated area had been burnt prior to six days and two months, respectively. Number of ant nests observed in each quadrat and the ant species that inhabited each nest were recorded. Unknown ant species were preserved in 85% ethanol and identified in the laboratory. Air (F= 290C, B = 300C, C = 300C) and soil temperatures (F= 270C, B = 290C, C = 300C), soil pH (F= 5.8, B = 5.1, C = 4.9) and soil moisture% ((F= 4.5, B = 2.3, C = 4.2) of each location were also measured. Significantly different nest densities, four, one and nine per m-2 were recorded from the regions F, B and C, respectively (One way ANOVA, Tukey‟s test; p<0.05). Species Richness observed in F, B and C were 31, 11 and 29 and there were significant differences between the Species Richness of ants in F and B and that of B and C. The lowest nest density was observed at site B. Although the Species Richness of ants recorded from F and C were not significantly different (Chi- square test; p<0.05) the ant communities of F and C were different. A nest of a single species was observed most often in each of the quadrats laid in F and two to three nests within a quadrat were occasionally observed. A nest of single species was observed only in sixteen quadrats laid at B whereas no nests were found in other thirty four quadrats. Nests belonging to several ant species were observed in any quadrat laid at C. The nests of Anoplolepis gracilipes Jerdon, Camponotus rufoglaucus Jerdon, Monomorium destructor Jerdon, Monomorium pharaonis Linnaeus, Pheidole sp. 4, Pheidole sp. 5, Polyrhachis sp. 1, and Solenopsis geminata Fabricius were common to the three sites whereas nests of Crematogaster (oxygyne) sp., Crematogaster sp. 1, Dorylus orientalis Westwood, Hypoponera sp. 1, Leptogenys ocellifera Emery, Pheidole sp. 7, Plagiolepis sp. 1, Tapinoma indicum Forel and Technomyrmex albipes Emery were restricted to site F. The nests of Camponotus compressus Fabricius were observed only at B. Camponotus irritans F. Smith, Camponotus sericeus Fabricius, Monomorium sp. 3, Pachycondyla sp. 2, Pheidole sp. 2, Pheidole sp. 3, Plagiolepis sp. 2, Solenopsis sp. 1 and Solenopsis sp. 3 were restricted to site C. The results indicated that the ant community and their nest density differ in the lands that were subject to burning and burning followed by chena cultivation. Financial assistance from Kelaniya University Research Grant, RP/03/02/07/01/2005 is highly acknowledged.Item Diversity, distribution and species composition of worker ants in tea and rubber fields in Ratnapura district(Research Symposium 2009 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2009) Dias, R.K.S.; Perera, K. A. M.Very little is known about the diversity, distribution and species composition of ants, an economically important biotic component of tea and rubber fields, in Sri Lanka. Also, the endemic ant, Aneuretus simoni Emery, has been recorded from the forests of Ratnapura district but its presence or absence in the tea and rubber fields of the district has never been investigated earlier. A survey on worker ants was conducted by sampling worker ants from each tea and rubber field in Kuruwita (14 – 16, January), Nivithigala (28 – 30, March), Balangoda (24 – 26, May), Dumbaramanana (25 – 27, July) and Godakawela (28 – 30, September) in 2005. Honey baiting, (25), soil sifting (20), hand collection (10) at 10 m distance and pitfall trapping at night (10) were carried out along five, 100 m transects laid in each of the fields on each occasion. All samples were preserved in 70% ethanol in the field. Sorting of the samples and identification of ants to the furthest possible taxonomic levels was carried out under a low power stereo-microscope in the laboratory. Although significant differences in air temperatures were not evident in the tea and rubber fields at the other locations mean air temperature at the rubber field in Balangoda was significantly higher than that recorded from the tea field. Significant differences in soil temperatures and soil moisture% were noticeable (One Way ANOVA; p<0.05) between the tea and rubber fields at each of the locations. GPS co-ordinates of each location were also recorded. Species Richness of ants recorded from the tea field in Kuruwita was twenty five and it increased to 35, 41, 50 and 52 with the additional species recorded from the tea fields in Nivithigala, Balangoda, Dumbaramanana and Godakawela, respectively. Nineteen taxa recorded from the rubber field in Kuruwita increased to 33, 48, 56 and 64 with the addition of ant species and morphospecies from Nivithigala, Balangoda, Dumbaramanana and Godakawela rubber fields, respectively. Seventy three species and morphospecies of worker ants belonging to six subfamilies, Amblyoponinae (rubber only), Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae and Pseudomyrmecinae were recorded collectively from the tea and rubber fields. Aneuretus simoni was never observed in these fields. Forty three species and morphospecies of ants were common to both tea and rubber fields while eight taxa were observed only in tea fields and twenty one species and morphospecies were restricted to rubber fields. Species composition of ants observed at each field was unique and characteristic to environmental conditions existed at each of them.Item Similarities and differences of ant communities in three types of habitats In Mihinthale region(Research Symposium 2009 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2009) Dias, R.K.S.; Peiris, H.A.W.S.Item Similarities and differences of ant communities in three types of habitats in the intermediate zone of Sri Lanka(Research Symposium 2010 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2010) Peiris, H .A .W .S.; Dias, R.K.S.Ants are a common biotic component in different types of terrestrial ecosystems. Similarities and differences of ant fauna that inhabited selected forests and cultivated and uncultivated lands in Anuradhapura district were investigated in 2008 and this investigation was extended to intermediate zone, Kurunegala lands, in 2009. Worker ants were collected during 30th September to 1st of October from Badagamuwa forest (F), a banana cultivation (B) and an uncultivated land (U) in Mawathagama. Soil (40) and litter (40) sifting, honey baiting (40) for an hour and manual collection (40) were carried out at 2.5 m distance along five, 100 m transects laid at each land. Twenty, honey-baited pitfall traps were placed throughout each sampling area and the traps were collected after five hours. All samples were preserved in 70% ethanol. Worker ants were sorted and identified to the furthest possible taxon in the laboratory. Air (F: 26.2 ± 0.9 0C ; B: 26.7 ± 0.75 0C ; U: 29.8 ± 1.7 0C) and soil temperatures (F: 25.7 ± 0.27 0C ; B: 27.1 ± 0.22 0C ; U: 32.1 ± 1.8 0C), soil moisture% (F: 15.2 ± 3.2 ; B: 17 ± 2.3 ; U: 16.9 ± 2) and soil pH (F: 5.08 ± 0.5 ; B: 5.4 ± 0.18 ; U: 4.62 ± 0.21) of each transect were also recorded. Worker ants belonging to five subfamilies, twenty one genera and thirty six species and morphospecies were recorded. Dolichoderinae, Formicinae and Myrmicinae were common at the three lands but ponerines were restricted to the forest. Two pseudomyrmecines were common at the forest and the uncultivated land. Anoplolepis gracilipes Jerdon (F-32.6%, B-76%, U-14.3%) and Paratrechina yerburyi Bolton (F-2%, B-5.3%, U-7.6%) were common to the three lands (Proportional similarity = 16.4%). Pheidologeton diversus Jerdon (37.6%), Pachycondyla luteipes Brown (6.9%), Solenopsis geminata Fabricius (3.9%), Technomyrmex albipes Smith (2%), Odontomachus simillimus Smith (0.8%), Leptogenys ocellifera Roger (0.7%), Tetramorium tortuosum Roger (0.7%), Tetraponera allaborans Walker (0.6%) , Hypoponera sp. 1 (0.2%) and Leptogenys sp. 1 (0.2%) were restricted to the forest (H/=1.7) and A. gracilipes, Pheidole sp. 3, P. diversus and P. luteipes were dominant in this community (Chi-square ; p<0.05). Lophomyrmex quadrispinosus Jerdon (4.6%), Tetramorium walshi Forel (1.3%), Crematogaster biroi Mayr (0.6%), Crematogaster sp. 3 (0.4%), Recurvidris sp. 1 (0.4%) and Monomorium floricola Jerdon (0.2%) were observed only in the banana cultivation (H/=0.98) while A. gracilipes, P. yerburyi and Meranoplus bicolor Guerin-Meneviile were the dominant species (Chi-square; p<0.05). Tapinoma melanocephalum Fabricius (8.8%), Lepisiota sp. 1 (3%), Paratrechina longicornis Latrielle (3%), Oecophylla smaragdina Fabricius (0.9%), Tetramorium smithi Mayr (0.6%), Camponotus sericeus Fabricius (0.3%), Monomorium sp. 3 (0.3%), and Tetraponera rufonigra Smith (0.3%) were observed only in the uncultivated land (H/=2) and T. melanocephalum, A. gracilipes, P. yerburyi, Crematogaster rothneyi Mayr and Pheidole sp. 4 contributed higher proportions (Chi – square p<0.05).