Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in urban centers of the Alto Tietê, São Paulo, Brazil

The Alto Tietê municipalities have rich remnants of Dense Rain Forest in their vicinities. Considering the environmental importance of the Alto Tietê as water source and that of ants as components of tropical biodiversity, this paper aimed at describing the diversity, composition and similarity of the ant fauna in urban centers of different cities. Samples were collected in houses and city squares. Seven subfamilies and 87 species were recorded, of which 39% are commonly found in the Atlantic Forest remnants adjacent to the cities. Linepithema neotropicum is dominant in areas outside the houses and in squares. In each municipality, in the area inside the houses, there is a dominant species. Tapinoma melanocephalumwas recorded preferably in the area inside the houses. Five exotic species were recorded mainly in the city of Mogi das Cruzes, SP, Brazil.上蒂埃特（Alto Tietê）辖区的周边区域留存有大面积茂密雨林残余斑块。鉴于上蒂埃特地区作为水源地的重要生态价值，以及蚂蚁作为热带生物多样性组成部分的关键意义，本研究旨在阐明不同城市中心城区蚂蚁区系的多样性、组成与相似性特征。研究样本采集于住宅与城市广场内。本次调查共记录到7个蚂蚁亚科与87个物种，其中39%的物种常见于毗邻各城市的大西洋森林（Atlantic Forest）残余斑块中。新热带臭蚁（Linepithema neotropicum）为住宅外围及广场区域的优势物种。各城市的住宅内部区域则各有其专属的优势蚂蚁物种。黑头慌蚁（Tapinoma melanocephalum）更常被记录于住宅内部区域。另有5种外来蚂蚁物种主要分布于巴西圣保罗州（SP）的莫吉达斯克鲁泽斯（Mogi das Cruzes）市。