New distribution record of Bicolored Trailing Ant, Monomorium floricola (Jerdon, 1851) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Ecuador, with information on cohabitation with the social spider Anelosimus eximius (Keyserling, 1884)

Abstract

Invasive ant species are a serious threat to native fauna, especially in highly diverse tropical countries. Therefore, new distribution reports and information on the interactions with other species are essential to understand the potential effects of invasive ants on biodiversity. Here we report for the first time the presence of colonies of Monomorium floricola (Jerdon, 1851) in the nest of the Neotropical social spider Anelosimus eximius (Keyserling, 1884) in the southern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Our report extends the known distributional range of M. floricola to the southern Ecuador.

Keywords

• Conservation
• invasive species
• kleptoparasitism