An update to the taxonomy and distribution of the Arabian Foerster, 1850 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with an illustrated key and remarks on habitats.

Background: Foerster belongs to the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae and the vast majority of its species are arboreal or generalised foragers. The genus is composed of 70 described species, 22 known subspecies and six valid fossil species worldwide, while from the Arabian Peninsula, three species have been recorded so far.

New Information: Ants of the genus of the Arabian Peninsula are reviewed, keyed and illustrated, based on the worker caste. Three species are diagnosed, (Fabricius, 1793), Krausse, 1911 and Sharaf & Aldawood, 2012. We present the first illustrated key to the Arabian , enhanced by automontage images to facilitate species recognition. New distributional data for species are presented, based on recently-collected material from the region and literature records. Information on habitats' preference and biology of species are given.