Distribution and habitat preferences of Galápagos ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Author
Herrera Léon Baert Wouter Dekoninck, Henri W.
Author
Causton, Charlotte E.
Author
Sevilla, Christian R.
Author
Pozo, Paola
Author
Hendrickx, Frederik
text
Belgian Journal of Entomology
2020
93
1
60
journal article
302430
10.5281/zenodo.13710313
83b9d93e-6482-4509-82e7-d477e479612b
2295-0214
13710313
2612CE09-F7FF-45CD-B52E-99F04DC2AA56
Strumigenys eggersi
(Emery, 1890)
Egger's Pygmy Snapping Ant (
DEYRUP
et al.,
2000
)
(AntWeb: CASENT0625428, CASENT 0625429). (
Map 32
)
A neotropical species found throughout Central and northern South America, numerous in the Caribbean islands and in
Florida
,
U.S.A.
(
KEMPF
, 1972
;
BOLTON
et al.,
2006
). This introduced ant was collected for the first time in 2011 and is known only from the Humid Zone of Santa Cruz Island (
HERRERA
et al.,
2014
). The record in the
Galápagos Islands
of
S. eggersi
in crops of
M. paradisiaca
is the first for an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean (
HERRERA
et al.,
2014
). Little is known about its ecology in
Galápagos
. In other parts of the world,
Strumigenys eggersi
is an important predator of
Collembola
fauna and can be abundant in secondary forests or seasonally dry habitats. Records of
S. eggersi
in other localities originate from leaf litter, compost heaps, rotten twigs, gardens, coffee plantations and low epiphytes in second–growth forests (
WEBER
, 1952
;
BROWN
, 1962
;
MCGLYNN
, 1999
;
LATTKE
&
GOITÍA
, 1997
;
DEYRUP
et al.,
2000
). It is known to nest in leaf litter, hollow twigs, or nuts within the litter (
DEYRUP
et al.,
2000
). It is also reported from the mainland of
Ecuador
in the
Orellana province
in the Amazon region (
MERTL
et al.,
2012
).