A Qualitative Baseline Inventory and Morphological Characterisation of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Across Lahore, Faisalabad and Shahkot, Punjab, Pakistan

Ants collected in Lahore, Faisalabad and Shahkot were used to build a qualitative taxonomic baseline for central Punjab. The study records presence and identity rather than abundance or between-site ecological differences. The pooled collection contained 260 specimens assigned to 19 species and 11 genera, all within Myrmicinae or Formicinae; this total does not represent a balanced or replicated site-by-site sampling design. Collection involved hand searching, aspiration, pitfall traps and litter-focused methods, including Winkler extraction, followed by preservation and microscopic examination. Identification relied on antennal structure, clypeal and mandibular form, mesosomal profile, waist morphology, sculpture, pilosity, colour and body size. Camponotus was represented by five species, Pheidole by three, and Trichomyrmex and Monomorium by two each; the remaining genera were represented by single species. Records came from grassland, crop fields, orchards, roadsides, ornamental vegetation, leaf litter, bare soil, footpaths and household-associated microhabitats. Sampling effort varied among sites and methods, so the dataset is used only for occurrence, taxonomic composition and morphology. No site-level abundance estimates, diversity indices or habitat-preference tests were calculated. The resulting checklist provides a reference point for replicated surveys, voucher re-examination and future integrative taxonomy in Punjab. Keywords:Formicidae; ant diversity; taxonomy; Punjab; Pakistan; Hymenoptera; morphology; biodiversity inventory; Camponotus; Pheidole