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 obscuriorWheeler, 1929,Lepisiota capensis(Mayr, 1862) andPheidole navigansForel, 1901. The well-known invasivePheidole megacephalais now rare on Madeira, possibly because of competition withP. 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 endemicTemnothorax 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.