The Ants of Africa

Introduction

The Ants of Africa
Chapter 2 - Geography and History - Ivory Coast

Summary of known collectors
C Alluaud (Emery, 1892d); Babacauh (Babacauh, 1982); E Bergroth (Emery, 1892c); L Berland (Santschi, 1926b), Bonhoure (Emery, 1899e); H E Box (Donisthorpe, 1945b); L Brader (Bolton, 1976, 1980, 1981a); W L Brown & E S Brown (Brown, 1975, 1978; Bolton, 1974a, 1975a, 1981b, 1980, 1982, 1987); C A Collingwood (Bolton, 1974a); B Delage-Darchen (Delage-Darchen, 1972b); Delamare-Debouteville (Bernard, 1952; Delamare-Debouteville, 1945); E Dieme (Bolton, 1987); T Diomandei (Bolton, 1980, 1983, 2002; Levieux, 1978); W H Gotwald (Brown, 1975, 1978; Bolton, 1983); T Humle (Taylor, 2005w); A Leroux (Gotwald, 1980); J Lévieux (Bolton, 1974b, 1975a, 1975b, 1980, 1983a, 2002; Brown, 1971; Gotwald, 1972; Lévieux, 1978); I Lobl (Bolton, 1981b, 1987, 2002); J H Lohier (Santschi, 1911i, 1912b, 1915c, 1917c, 1928f); R Luctus (Bolton, 1982); V Mahnert & J-L Perret (Bolton, 1983, 1987, 2002; Taylor, 2005w); H Mottaz (Santschi, 1928d, 1928f); Le Moult (Santschi, 1919b, 1919h, 1920d, 1920i, 1923e, 1926b, 1930a); C Phoré (Santschi, 1919h); Posth (Santschi, 1915c); Roubaud (Santschi (1928d); A Richard (Santschi, 1910g); E S Ross & R E Leech (Bolton, 2002); G Schnitz (Bolton, 1973b); Talbot (Wheeler, 1922 list); A Villiers (Bernard, 1952).

Among the more prolific of the historic collections is that of Ch. Alluaud in the "Territory of Assinie" in July-August 1886 (Santschi, 1914b, Emery, 1892d). Brown (1976b) believed this location is a coastal village (which can be found on modern maps, and is shown on Map 8) and the surrounding area near the border with Ghana.

Smaller numbers of species were found by K. Illiger, who described Dorylus nigricans from Ivory Coast in 1802 (in apparently his sole ant paper). A.M. Lohier collected at Jacqueville (5°15'N, 4°25'W) (?pre-1923) (see Atopomyrmex mocquerysi, Bolton, 1981b). G. Schmitz found Polyrhachis schistacea at Bouaké (7°45'N, 5°W) (Bolton, 1973b); he worked on Helopeltis pests in Central Africa (Schmitz, 1958, 1968, cited in Entwistle, 1972). Dorylus wilverthi was collected at Ouossou (6°20'N, 4°55'E) by Talbot (in Wheeler, 1922). H.E. Box collected ants on cocoa at Abengourou in May 1944 (Donisthorpe, 1945b). Bernard (1952) recorded collections at Banco (see below) by Delamare-Deboutteville, in July 1945 (Anochetus silvaticus, Pheidole picata and Paratrechina weissi), and by Villiers, also in 1945, (Crematogaster libengensis).

Specific locations given by Bolton, in his generic revisions, include Lamto and Toumodi for J. Lévieux (see below); Banco Forest (or National Park, 30 km² of primary rain forest, some 8 km east of Abidjan) and the ORSTOM research station (17 km west of Abidjan), and Plantation Niecky (40 km west of Abidjan) for W.L. Brown (in January-February 1963) and, with D.E. Brown, in January 1977). Another Banco Forest collector is I. Löbl, who collected in (March) 1977, also at Yapo Forest - Agboville (some 60 km north of Abidjan), Sassandra (a coastal town, 10 km from Monogaga), Sangouine and Man (a western town, on the eastern foothills of Mt. Nimba in Guinea, 7°30'N, 7°40'W) (e.g. Monomorium invidium, and others in Bolton, 1983, 1987). Then there are collections by W.L. and D.E. Brown at Anguédedou Forest; Nzi Noua, north of Ndouci; and Sangrobo, in the S-P de Tiassalé (Bolton, 1981, 1983). W. H. Gotwald & R. Schaefer also collected at Lamto. Several species were collected by Lukas Brader, who studied borer beetles of coffee in the early 1960's (references in Entwistle, 1972), mostly at Divo (March 1963; in rain forest, see Calyptomyrmex barak), with Monomorium dolatu from Gagno.

{Savannah at Lamto} Jean Lévieux has led a series of studies of ants in the forest edge savannah and in the neighbouring evergreen rain forest (commencing in 1962 and continuing until 1969- (possibly interrupted) again in 1974 to 1978), but mainly on ground-dwelling species (Lévieux, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1983b). The work was based at two locations. One was the Lamto Field station of the University of Abidjan, 200 km north-west of Abidjan (6°13'N-5°41'W), and off the main highway 50 km south of Toumodi. A photograph of the habitat was shown by Gotwald & Lévieux (1972), with the palm Borassus ethiopum being the most common tree and the ground cover being coarse grasses. The other was Ferkéssédougou, in the north of the country (9°30'N-5°10'W). Lamto is interesting because it is a location where the primarily coastal rainforest penetrates alongside the River Bandama into the Guinea savannah (Delage-Darchen, 1972). Thus useful comparisons could be made between the ant fauna of the two ecosystems. Ferkéssédougou in contrast is in the much drier Sudan savannah, with a pronounced dry season from November to May, and no more than 1100 mm annual rainfall (Lévieux & Diomande, 1978).

Bernadette Delage-Darchen participated in the study of the ecology of ants of herbaceous and arboreal strata in the savannah at Lamto (Delage-Darchen, 1971); and described the biology and taxonomy of what she believed to a new species Melissotarsus titubans (now synonymised with Melissotarsus beccarii) (Delage-Darchen, 1972).

Tiemoko Diomande (1980) surveyed the terrestrial ants of Tai and Téké Forests (near Anyama), and the Palmeraie de Lame, apparently in 1974-76, from information in Bolton (1980, 1983). Tai Game Reserve is in the south-west of the country, between the Cavally and Sassandra Rivers, east of the town of Tai. It consists of mainly primary rain forest with a total area of 4250 km². Diomande also collaborated with Lévieux in a study at Ferkéssédougou (in 1976?), primarily of Pachycondyla sennaarensis, both being based at the Faculty of Science, University of Abidjan (Lévieux & Diomande, 1978).

Several dacetine species were collected by V. Mahnert & J.-L. Perret in October 1980, the locations including Adiopodoumé, Bingerville (just east of Abidjan), Droplieu, Gregbeu, Issoneu, Man and Mt. Tonkoui, Monogaga, Tai Forest (Bolton, 1983, 1987).

The Bossou chimpanzee project, a member of which, Tanya Humle, sent me a number of specimens of Dorylus Driver Ants, worked on Mt Nimba, both on the Guinea and Ivory Coast sides - see the linked page.

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