Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr, 1887)

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 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.

Figures

Map 44. Distribution of Hypoponera opaciceps (Mayr, 1887).