Bugs R All, No. 21 - April 2014 13

AbstractHarpegnathos  saltator,  Jerdon  1815  (Hymenoptera,  Formicidae,  Ponerinae)  an  ant  whose  known  distribu\on  is  considered  to  be  restricted  in  India  to  Southern  Indian  states,  was  first  sighted  in  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary,  Raigad  District,  Maharashtra,  India.  The  ant  is  known  to  prefer  undisturbed  forest  ecosystems  of  moist  deciduous,  scrubland,  semi-­‐evergreen  and  evergreen  forests.  The  presence  of  this  ant  so  far  north  from  its  published  range  signifies  an  extension  of  the  range  of  its  distribu\on.

Introduc^onHarpegnathos  saltator  is  a  species  of  ant  in  the  subfamily  Ponerinae.  It  was  first  described  in  1815  by  Thomas  C.  Jerdon  in  Thalassery,  Kerala,  and  was  subsequently  recorded  along  the  Malabar  Coast  (Jerdon  1851).  H.  saltator  exhibits  a  long  head  and  large  compound  eyes,  with  finely  serrated  mandibles.  The  total  body  length  is  3/4th  of  an  inch  (Jerdon  1851).  In  India,  H.  saltator  was  considered  to  be  restricted  to  Southern  India  (Narendra  &  Kumar  2006),    in  the  states  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  Karnataka,  Kerala,  and  Tamil  Nadu.  There  exist  no  published  records  for  its  presence  further  up  the  northern  Western  Ghats  in  Maharashtra.

In  the  early  morning  hours  on  June  24,  2012,  during  the  monsoon  season,  a  single  specimen  of  a  worker  ant  (Image  1)  was  observed  foraging  on  the  forest  floor  in  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary  in  Raigad  District  in  the  state  of  Maharashtra.  The  coordinates  for  the  sanctuary  are  18°54’31”  N  and  73°6’9”  E.  The  highest  point  of  the  Bird  Sanctuary  is  over  1400  feet  above  sea  level.  The  Bird  Sanctuary  is  located  in  the  Konkan  region  along  the  western  side  of  the  northern  Western  Ghats.  It  is  12.11  sq.  km.  in  area,  located  60  km  from  the  main  city  of  Mumbai  and  about  13  km  from  the  nearest  town  of  Panvel  in  Navi  Mumbai.  The  ant  was  observed  approximately  halfway  through  the  Karnala  Fort  trail,  at  an  al\tude  of  700  feet  above  sea  level.  The  habitat  in  which  the  ant  was  observed  was  moist  deciduous  forests  dominated  by  trees  such  as  Teak  (Tectona  grandis),  Crocodile-­‐bark  tree  (Terminalia  tomentosa),  Black  Catechu  (Acacia  catechu),  Decussate-­‐leaved  Lagerstroemia  (Lagerstroemia  parviflora),  Ben  Teak  (Largerstroemia  microcarpa),  Black  Rosewood  (Dalbergia  la:folia),  Yellow  Teak  

(Hadina  cordifolia),  Kalam  (Mitragyna  parvifolia),  and  Indian  CoVonwood  (Bombax  ceiba).  During  the  sigh\ng,  the  forest  floor  was  liVered  with  fallen  dry  leaves,  damp  from  the  rain.  The  ant  exhibited  the  typical  behaviour  of  jumping  in  succession,  and  occasionally  hid  under  fallen  leaves  on  sensing  disturbance.

Materials  and  MethodsThe  ant  was  sighted  on  a  trek  in  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary  on  June  24,  2012.    The  photographic  record  was  obtained  with  a  Sony  DSC  H7  digital  camera.    The  ant  was  iden\fied  using  key  provided  by  Narendra  and  Kumar  (2006).    An  area  of  approximately  50  sq.  m  with  a  gentle  slope  was  surveyed  to  iden\fy  the  tree  species  of  the  area.    Map  showing  loca\on  of  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary  (Image  2)  highlights  the  western  part  of  the  Indian  peninsula,  with  the  arrow  loca\ng  the  Bird  Sanctuary.  

Discussion  and  ConclusionH.  saltator  has  been  recorded  in  Southern  India,  with  its  overall  range  extending  to  Sri  Lanka  and  Southeast  Asia  (Munoz-­‐Torres  et  al.  2010).    This  species  is  known  to  prefer  undisturbed  forest  ecosystems,  more  specifically  moist  deciduous,  scrubland,  semi-­‐evergreen  and  evergreen  forests  (Ramachandra,  Subash  Chandran,  Joshi,  Narendra  &  Ali  2012).    Worker  ants  of  H.  saltator  are  solitary  foragers  (Shivashankar  et  al.  1989),  which  might  explain  the  sigh\ng  of  only  one  individual.  The  current  record  of  one  worker  ant  may  signify  the  presence  of  an  ac\ve  colony  within  the  boundary  of  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary.    This  Bird  Sanctuary  is  visited  by  a  number  of  trekkers  and  bird  watchers  in  all  the  seasons;  however  it  is  rather  undisturbed  owing  to  the  absence  of  residen\al  and  agricultural  areas.  Furthermore,  the  Forest  Department  has  launched  a  programme  to  minimize  pollu\on  within  the  Bird  Sanctuary  by  keeping  a  strict  check  on  the  number  of  disposable  items,  such  as  plas\cs,  carried  inside  the  Bird  Sanctuary.  We  firmly  believe  that  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary  is  a  place  to  harbouring  unique  species  such  as  H.  saltator,  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  indicator  of  an  undisturbed  ecosystem.No  specimen  was  collected  at  the  \me  of  the  sigh\ng  as  it  is  illegal  to  collect  specimens  in  Protected  Areas  without  prior  permission  from  the  respec\ve  authori\es.  

Note  on  the  first  sigh^ng  of  Jerdon’s  Jumping  Ant,  Harpegnathos  saltator,  Jerdon  1815  (Hymenoptera,  Formicidae,  Ponerinae)  in  Karnala  Bird  Sanctuary,  

Raigad  District,  Maharashtra,  India  

1Aniruddha  Dhamorikar  &  2Vishal  Rasal1Research  Associate,  The  Energy  and  Resources  Ins\tute

B-­‐9/  15,  Dev  Krupa  Society,  Anand  Park,  Thane  (West)  400601,  Maharashtra,  India2JRF,  Central  Ins\tute  of  Fisheries  Educa\on,  Government  Colony,  Bandra  (E),  Mumbai  400051,  Maharashtra,  India

Email:  aniruddha.dhamorikar@gmail.com  (1Corresponding  Author),  2vishal_rasal123@yahoo.co.in  

Bugs R A!, No. 21 " April 2014 14

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Image 1: Harpegnathos saltator worker ant at Karnala Bird Sanctuary, Raigad District, Maharashtra

Image 2: Map showing location of Karnala Bird Sanctuary in the state of Maharashtra, the southern Indian states are highlighted in gray

(Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, used under CC-BY-3.0 license)

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