Nylanderia spp.

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 : 15

Nylanderia spp. ( Map 12 )

Nylanderia is a widely distributed genus in all vegetation zones in Galápagos, but its taxonomy is not yet clearly understood and awaits a detailed revision. With the exception of N. steinheili , three other species have previously been recorded in Galápagos (WHEELER, 1919, 1924, 1933; CLARK, 1982), but the identity and taxonomical status of these records is uncertain.

More than three morphospecies of Nylanderia occur in the archipelago (HERRERA unpublished data). Workers forage in the soil, between leaf litter in mangrove areas, on shrubs on beaches and between lava near to beaches. Ants have been observed nesting under stones and bark of rotten trunks as well as in small, humid patches of vegetation located in ravines that cross extensive fields of lava on Fernandina. Specimens are commonly collected in Winkler samples in the transition and humid zones (in natural and disturbed areas), in forests of P. floribunda , B. graveolens , Cedrela odorata L., M. robinsoniana , Cinchona pubescens Vahl , in areas covered with Pteridium spp. , and the S. pedunculata forest in los Gemelos on Santa Cruz. Workers have also been collected on leaves and stems of Conocarpus erectus L., Calandrinia galapagosa H. St. John , S. microcephala , S. cordata , A. germinans , under trees of H. mancinella , visiting flowers of C. lutea , I. habeliana , Plumbago scandens L., and collecting nectar from T. rufo –sericea ( MCMULLEN, 1986, 1993; BOADA, 2005; MCMULLEN, 2009). In the agricultural zone, workers were present in crops of Ananas comosus (L.) Merr., Brassica oleracea var. capitata L., Allium cepa L., B. oleracea var. italica , C. papaya , Capsicum annuum L., Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsun. & Nakai , C. sinensis , C. arabica , Manihot esculenta Crantz , Musa × paradisiaca L., M. acuminata , Persea americana Mill. , Phaseolus vulgaris L., P. guajava , Paspalum sp. , Saccharum officinarum L., Solanum betaceum Cav. , S. lycopersicum , Solanum quitoense Lam. and Zea mays L. Nylanderia spp. have been recorded visiting I. purchasi and other aphids for honeydew. In populated areas, Nylanderia spp. , are common in gardens, disturbed areas and cargo docks. On San Cristóbal, specimens were found during inspections carried out in the holds of aircrafts arriving from mainland Ecuador.

Figures

Map 12. Distribution of Nylanderia spp.