Ants from Tropical Dry Forests and their surrounding matrices in the geographical valley of the Cauca River which are deposited in the entomological collection of the Universidad del Magdalena / Hormigas de bosque seco tropical y sus matrices aledañas en el valle geográfico del río Cauca depositadas en la colección entomológica de la Universidad del Magdalena

In Colombia, the Tropical Dry Forest is one of the most threatened ecosystems due to habitat transformation and land-use changes driven by human activities such as agriculture, livestock farming, and urban settlements (Chacón de Ulloa et al. 2012; IAvH 2014). Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are among terrestrial ecosystems' most abundant and diverse insect groups (Parker and Kronauer 2021). They modify landscapes through their ecological roles, which include seed dispersal, soil turnover, and nutrient cycling (Del Toro et al. 2015; Carvalho et al. 2020). Ants are also involved in strong interactions with other invertebrates, plants, and indirectly, larger vertebrates (Helms et al. 2020). Due to these characteristics, ants are often used as ecological models to assess environmental conditions (Hoffmann and Andersen 2003).