Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr, 1887)

(ANTWEB: CASENT0173294). (Map 44)

A pantropical species (KEMPF, 1972; BOLTON et al., 2006; WETTERER & VARGO, 2003). This tramp ant was recorded for the first time in 1984 (LUBIN, 1984). It has been recorded from eight islands and it is found in both natural and disturbed zones. It is a common inhabitant of leaf litter and nests in rotten logs, under rocks, bases of trees and dead and humid stems of grass ( P. purpureum). In natural areas it is registered from forests of M. robinsoniana, C. pubescens, S. pedunculata and P. floribunda . In the humid zone it is present in areas composed of herbs, grasses and ferns ( Galactia sp., Diodela radula (Willd. & Hoffmanns. ex Roem. & Schult.) . Delprete, J. galapagana, S. setosa, Panicum sp., P. conjugatum and Pteridium sp.) and patches of Sphagnum . In dry environments specimens were registered in litter collected from lava near the beach on Santiago Island while in Fernandina it was collected in a small woodland composed of ferns ( P. tridens, D. palmata) and shrubs ( P. rufipes, D. lancifolius, T. rufo – sericea). On Floreana Island some workers were collected near the beach under C. pyriformis . In cultivated areas H. opaciceps is known from leaf litter of S. purpurea, M. acuminata, C. arabica, and M. esculenta . In urban areas it can be found in gardens. Hypoponera opaciceps was recorded on tourist boats traveling between islands (LOMAS, 2008) and also from aircrafts coming from mainland Ecuador.