Pheidole flavens Roger, 1863

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 : 26

Pheidole flavens Roger, 1863

Yellow Big–Headed Ant ( DEYRUP et al., 2000)

(ANTWEB: CASENT0173263). ( Map 23 )

Widespread in the Neotropics ( KEMPF, 1972; WILSON, 2003; BOLTON et al., 2006). Pheidole flavens is an introduced species which is found on three islands in natural and disturbed areas. Mostly found in humid zones, it was recorded in Galápagos for the first time in 1888 from Isabela Island (WHEELER, 1919). In 1982 it was recorded on Santa Cruz ( CLARK, 1982). Nests have been found in rotten trunks in moist areas and bark of dead trunks of B. graveolens . Workers have been collected in litter in secondary forests as well as in closed woodland dominated by P. floribunda , Z. fagara , C. scouleri , P. galapageium and Scalesia forest. Pheidole flavens has been recorded in crops of C. arabica , S. officinarum , A. cepa , M. paradisiaca , P. guajava , C. annuum and S. lycopersicum . It was collected on trees of C. papaya in Puerto Ayora. So far, there is no evidence that P. flavens should be considered an invasive species in Galápagos.

Figures

Map 23. Distribution of Pheidole flavens Roger, 1863.