Microsporidia Parasitic in Ants 

 Only two species of microsporidia, Thelohania solenopsae 

 Knell et al. (Thelohaniidae) , and the subject of this disserta- 

 tion, Burenella dimorpha Jouvenaz and Hazard (Burenellidae) , 

 have been described from ants. 



Thelohania Solenopsae 



T. solenopsae , the first specific pathogen known from 

 fire ants and the first protozoan known from Formicidae, 

 was discovered by Dr. W. F. Buren during a taxonomic study 

 of S^. invicta (Allen and Buren, 1974). While examining alcohol- 

 preserved specimens from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, 

 Buren observed subspherical , cyst-like bodies in the partially 

 cleared gasters of workers. These cysts contained spores 

 of the microsporidium, which was subsequently described from 

 fresh material by Knell et al. (1977). Very soon after Buren' s 

 observation, Allen and Silviera-Guido (1974) reported similar 

 microsporidia from S^. richteri in Uruguay and Argentina, 

 and from an unidentified Solenopsis species in Uruguay. 

 T. solenopsae (or T. solenopsae and sibling species which 

 cannot be differentiated) has since been detected in ca 22 

 described and undescribed species of fire ants in South 

 America (Jouvenaz et al. , 1977), 



T. solenopsae infects fat body cells of workers and 

 sexuals, and the ovaries of females. Infected cells hyper- 

 trophy, forming the cysts observed by Buren. Within the 



