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Ecological traits have flourished in insect-based studies, resulting in a substantial and growing list of measurable traits. One trait that will likely become more attractive as data quality and curation improve is the diel patterns of insect activities. Diel patterns in ants can help better understand vital ecological processes such as competition and invasion biology. Because diel activity has the potential to be an informative trait in ants, we assessed the diel designations of foraging ants across the literature to quantify and assess the variation and sampling extent of this particular trait. We collected diel designations from 104 peer-reviewed scientific articles and quantified these data across important and documented ecological traits. We found that a disproportionate amount of solitary foraging ants were primarily diurnal foragers relative to ants that cooperatively forage. Our data show that diel patterns in foraging vary widely within and across ant genera. Importantly, we highlight the undersampling of this crucial ecological trait, which currently limits its utility. Our efforts highlight the importance of assessing an ecologically important trait’s landscape of reported data. 

ABSTRACT The Importance of the Regional Species PoolThe regional species pool—the set of species capable of entering a local community—is a foundational concept for understanding ecological processes that occur between local and extensive (biogeographic) spatial scales. However, the lack of precise definitions for the regional species pool, coupled with limited research into the dynamics of regional biodiversity, has impeded the development of a comprehensive framework to explain the mechanisms shaping these pools. Processes Governing Regional Species PoolsAlthough ecological processes at local and extensive scales are relatively well understood, the mechanisms shaping regional biota remain less clear. Regional species pools are likely shaped by a unique set of processes that often overlap minimally with those operating at local or extensive scales. Despite their significance, our understanding of the specific mechanisms driving the dynamics of regional species pools remains incomplete. The Need for a Theory of Regional Species PoolsWe argue that it is essential to prioritise the study of the regional species pool for two reasons. First, the regional species pool bridges spatial and temporal scales from ecological dynamics in landscapes to the long‐term processes shaping the biotas of entire biogeographic provinces. As such, understanding the dynamics of species pools addresses fundamental questions about the origin, maintenance, and dynamics of biodiversity. Second, effective biodiversity conservation in the Anthropocene hinges on understanding the processes that operate at regional scales.