My earlier list of the most-studied ant species contained a few omissions. Here is a more inclusive list:
Ant species sorted by number of BIOSIS-listed publications, 1984-2008
The Top 10 Species | Publications |
Solenopsis invicta | 984 |
Linepithema humile | 343 |
Lasius niger | 250 |
Formica rufa | 167 |
Atta sexdens | 163 |
Formica polyctena | 160 |
Solenopsis geminata | 151 |
Myrmica rubra | 142 |
Monomorium pharaonis | 121 |
Atta cephalotes | 112 |
The Rest | Publications |
Oecophylla smaragdina | 111 |
Solenopsis richteri | 110 |
Pheidole megacephala | 104 |
Tetramorium "caespitum" | 93 |
Formica fusca | 92 |
Myrmica ruginodis | 88 |
Pogonomyrmex barbatus | 87 |
Lasius flavus | 87 |
Wasmannia auropunctata | 79 |
Atta laevigata | 79 |
Pogonomyrmex rugosus | 79 |
Leptothorax acervorum | 75 |
Myrmica scabrinodis | 70 |
Formica lugubris | 69 |
Acromyrmex octospinosus | 67 |
Formica cunicularia | 65 |
Messor barbarus | 62 |
Myrmica sabuleti | 62 |
Anoplolepis gracilipes | 60 |
Formica sanguinea | 60 |
Formica exsecta | 60 |
Formica pratensis | 60 |
Atta colombica | 60 |
Paraponera clavata | 58 |
Eciton burchellii | 54 |
Tapinoma melanocephalum | 54 |
Lasius fuliginosus | 54 |
Formica truncorum | 48 |
Polyergus rufescens | 48 |
Ectatomma tuberculatum | 48 |
Myrmecia pilosula | 47 |
Temnothorax albipennis | 45 |
Paratrechina longicornis | 44 |
Formica rufibarbis | 43 |
Ectatomma ruidum | 43 |
Cataglyphis bicolor | 42 |
Cataglyphis cursor | 41 |
Camponotus floridanus | 41 |
Camponotus rufipes | 40 |
I did not comprehensively list every species below 40 publications, but I did tally a few out of curiosity:
Camponotus rufipes | 40 |
Iridomyrmex purpureus | 39 |
Camponotus pennsylvanicus | 39 |
Camponotus herculeanus | 39 |
Tapinoma sessile | 38 |
Formica cinerea | 38 |
Lasius alienus | 35 |
Formica japonica | 34 |
Oecophylla longinoda | 34 |
Myrmica lobicornis | 32 |
Harpagoxenus sublaevis | 32 |
Plagiolepis pygmaea | 31 |
Technomyrmex "albipes" | 31 |
Pachycondyla villosa | 29 |
Tapinoma nigerrimum | 28 |
Pogonomyrmex badius | 28 |
Tetramorium bicarinatum | 28 |
Pogonomyrmex californicus | 27 |
Temnothorax curvispinosus | 26 |
Polyergus breviceps | 25 |
Formica subsericea | 24 |
Lasius neoniger | 22 |
Aphaenogaster cockerelli | 20 |
Harpegnathous saltator | 18 |
Ponera coarctata | 14 |
Lasius japonicus | 14 |
The updated list retains the same defining characteristics as the earlier one: the most studied species tend to be either trampy or European. Data and methods are here.
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