A Checklist of known ant species of Laos (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Laos is one of the most undersampled areas for ant biodiversity. We begin to address this knowledge gap by presenting the first checklist of Laotian ants. The list is based on a literature review and on specimens collected from several localities in Laos. In total, 123 species with three additional subspecies in 47 genera belonging to nine subfamilies are listed, including 62 species recorded for the first time in the country. Comparisons with neighboring countries suggest that this list is still very incomplete. The provincial distribution of ants within Laos also show that most species recorded are from Vientiane Province, the central part of Laos while the majority of other provinces have received very little, if any, ant sampling. Many ant specimens collected from Laos are awaiting identification and future collections should provide many new species records. Keywords: Formicidae, ants, checklist, new records, Laos