Hypoponera opacior (Forel, 1893)

Herrera Léon Baert Wouter Dekoninck, Henri W., Causton, Charlotte E., Sevilla, Christian R., Pozo, Paola & Hendrickx, Frederik, 2020, Distribution and habitat preferences of Galápagos ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 93, pp. 1-60 : 45

Hypoponera opacior (Forel, 1893)

(ANTWEB: CASENT0173297). ( Map 45 )

Found in the tropical and subtropical Americas ( KEMPF, 1972; BRANDÃO,1991; BOLTON et al., 2006). It was possibly introduced to Galápagos through human commerce and now occurs on six islands (SALOMON & MICKHEYEV, 2005; HERRERA et al., 2014). This species was reported for the first time in 2014 and is known from humid zones in natural and disturbed areas ( HERRERA et al., 2014). However, examinations of museum material showed that it was already collected in 1987 near the agricultural zone in Isabela Island. This species has been found in leaf litter in humid areas, in herb layers (composed of P. conjugatum , H. glutinosa , E. pilosa , A. subspicata , Rhynchospora sp. , C. asiática , S. setosa ), ferns ( P. aquilinum ) and mosses. Some samples have been collected from native forests of P. floribunda and invaded areas infested by P. guajava . In cultivated areas H. opacior is recorded on crops of S. officinarum and M. paradisiaca .

Figures

Map 45. Distribution of Hypoponera opacior (Forel, 1893).