First morphological and molecular confirmed report of the invasive tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from côte d’ivoire (West Africa)

Urban ecosystems house artificial infrastructures such as ports, transport stations and commercial centres which are often introduction foci for exotic species. The connectivity of these structures to other centres specialised in commodity flows located in urban cores, enhances the accidental transport and spreading of exotic species which can become invasive. Despite this fact, targeted investigations to detect establishment of invasive species in tropical urban landscapes are lacking. A survey conducted on ant communities in 15 cities throughout Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa) allowed us to find the highly invasive tropical fire ant (TFA) Solenopsis geminata for the first time in the country. DNA analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) of two specimens of S. geminata found that they had a close genetic relationship with specimens from Venezuela. From the 15 towns surveyed throughout Côte d’Ivoire, this ant was discovered only in industrial areas of Abidjan near the port zone suggesting an early stage of invasion.