First North American Records of the Old-World Tramp Ant Syllophopsis sechellensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Syllophopsis sechellensis (Emery) (formerly Monomorium sechellense ) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a small, inconspicuous ant species native to the Old-World tropics. Syllophopsis sechellensis is widespread in Asia and Australia, and on islands the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. In the New World, all published records come from West Indian islands. Here, I report the first records of S. sechellensis from North America: from four sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida, more than 1500 km from the closest records in the West Indies. The ants of Florida have been well-studied in the past, so S. sechellensis appears to be a recent arrival.