Polymerase chain reaction primers for polymorphic microsatellite loci in the ant Pseudomyrmex gracilis (Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae).

The elongate twig ant Pseudomyrmex gracilis is widely distributed in the New World ranging from southern USA to Brazil and northern Argentina. To investigate its within-colony relatedness, we developed primers for nine polymorphic microsatellite loci. High levels of within-population variation were observed, with number of alleles ranging from two to 13, and heterozygosity from 0.28 to 0.90. The loci showed no deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and no linkage disequilibrium.