Three new exotic species of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) for Madeira, with comments on its myrmecofauna

Abstract

Three new exotic species of ants are recorded for the Macaronesian island of Madeira: Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929, Lepisiota capensis (Mayr, 1862) and Pheidole navigans Forel, 1901. The well-known invasive Pheidole megacephala is now rare on Madeira, possibly because of competition with P. navigans. We did not come across the Argentine ant – Linepithema humile, which was once very common in the Funchal area. Despite extensive searching, the presumed endemic Temnothorax wollastoni (Donisthorpe, 1940) remains unknown other than from the type material. Presence, abundance and extinction of invasive and exotic ants are dynamic processes and we stress the importance of continuous sampling.