Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793)

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 : 26

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13710313
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2612CE09-F7FF-45CD-B52E-99F04DC2AA56
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13291148
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EC8796-3E6B-FFF2-54C5-3287FD70FDFB
treatment provided by	Felipe (2024-08-08 19:57:01, last updated by Guilherme 2025-01-03 12:11:44)
scientific name	Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793)
status

Treatment

Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793) View in CoL

Pantropical Big–Headed Ant

( DEYRUP et al., 2000)

(ANTWEB: ICCDRS0003685). ( Map 24 View Map 24 )

Distributed in tropical and subtropical areas (WETTERER, 2015), P. megacephala is an invasive species and is considered a threat to the native fauna in many parts of the world ( PERKINS, 1913; VANDERWOUDE et al., 2000; BASKIN, 2002; HOLWAY et al., 2002; WETTERER & O’HARA, 2002; WETTERER, 2015). In Galápagos the first specimens were collected in San Cristóbal Island in 2006 ( HERRERA et al., 2013). Currently it is present in the dry areas on three islands: it is widespread in urban zones in Puerto Ayora (Santa Cruz), Puerto Baquerizo Moreno ( San Cristóbal) and Puerto Villamil (Isabela). Pheidole megacephala is a pest in houses in Galápagos and can invade gardens where it is known to forage and hide under grass ( Z. matrella var. pacifica ), visit flowers of H. rosa – sinensis and attend Homoptera species on introduced plants (e.g. C. roseus ). Although the impact of P. megacephala has not yet been evaluated in Galápagos, similar problems to those recorded on other Pacific Islands can be expected ( WETTERER, 2007; HERRERA et al., 2013). In mainland Ecuador specimens of Pheidole megacephala were collected in Guayaquil, the main port for cargo boats that travel to Galapagos (Herrera unpublished data).

References

BASKIN Y., 2002. - A plague of rats and rubber vines. Island Press, Washington, 377 pp.

DEYRUP M., DAVIS L. & COVER S., 2000. - Exotic ants in Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 126: 293 - 326.

HERRERA H. W., SEVILLA C. R. & DEKONINCK W., 2013. - Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a new invasive ant in the Galapagos Islands. The Pan - Pacific Entomologist, 89 (4): 234 - 243.

HOLWAY D. A., LACH L., SUAREZ A. V., TSUTSUI N. D. & CASE T. J., 2002. - The causes and consequences of ant invasions. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 33: 181 - 233.

PERKINS R. C. L., 1913. - Introduction. Fauna Hawaiiensis, 1 (6): 1 - 227.

VANDERWOUDE C., BRUYN L. A. & DE HOUSE A. P., 2000. - Response of an open - forest ant community to invasion by the introduced ant, Pheidole megacephala. Austral Ecology, 25: 253 - 259.

WETTERER J. K., 2007. - Biology and impacts of Pacific Island invasive species. 3. The African big - headed ant, Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pacific Science, 61 (4): 437 - 456.