Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793)

Ghost Ant (DEYRUP et al., 2000)

(ANTWEB: CASENT0173215). (Map 4)

A cosmopolitan ant, widespread in the tropics, subtropics and temperate regions (KEMPF, 1972; BOLTON et al., 2006; WETTERER, 2015). Tapinoma melanocephalum is a tramp species introduced through trade to many parts of the world (PASSERA, 1994; WETTERER, 2009a). It was collected for the first time in 1891 on San Cristóbal Island (EMERY, 1893; WHEELER, 1919). It is widely distributed in Galápagos on 17 islands and islets and found often in the Dry Zone in natural as well as disturbed habitats. Nests are found under and inside dead branches of B. graveolens abandoned by termites (WHEELER, 1924), under rocks, rotten logs, bark of dead– dry trees and house walls. This species has been collected in trunks of B. graveolens and several plant species, such as Parkinsonia aculeata L. and Psidium guajava L. Tapinoma melanocephalum is a diurnal species (LUBIN, 1984) that has been observed feeding on nectar from flowers of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. and extrafloral nectaries of O. echios and J thouarsii (MEIER, 1994) . Visit flowers of Avicennia germinans (L.), Ipomoea habeliana Oliv., O. helleri, Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. and Scalesia atractyloides Arn. Workers were

9 observed transferring pollen of C. lutea flowers (MCMULLEN, 1986, 1990, 1993, 2009; Chamorro et al., 2012). Tapinoma melanocephalum can be common in the agricultural areas where it can attend Hemiptera species for honeydew, e.g on Brassica oleracea var. italic Plenck. It is common in human settlements.