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ABSTRACT
Ants are key species in the ecosystem as they can serve as bio-indicators and for biomonitoring. The choice of ant capture through the use of pitfall traps date back to over 120 years ago. However, this method is faced with some bias as many studies claim that digging-in effect affects the abundance of captured ant species. To verify this claim, this study was conducted, alongside determining the abundance and composition of ant species within the study area. To evaluate the composition and abundance, 12 pitfall traps were mounted 2 meters apart and collection commenced 24 hours later, repeatedly for the next 3 days. Results showed nine ant species within three subfamilies (Formicinae, Myrmicinae and Ponerinae). Pheidole welgelegenesis was the most abundant species with 531 individuals, followed by Tetramorium sp. with 386 individual ants. The study revealed that notably high number of individual ant species were collected on the first day (420 ants) and a drastic decline was observed on subsequent days in relation to the first (282 and 294 individual ants respectively). This attests to the influence of digging-in effect on trap catchability. This study contributes to the already existing but limited catalogue of ant composition within Edo state. Further studies however should be conducted to have a more comprehensive list on species composition within the study area.
