Occurrence of Pheidole tijucana Borgmeier, 1927 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Pheidole Westwood, 1839 is a hyperdiverse ant genus that is widely distributed in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems, especially in the tropics. The identification of Pheidole species is challenging, thus contributing to the description of several questionable morphospecies in the literature and making the geographic distribution of most species uncertain. In this work, we present the first records of Pheidole tijucana Borgmeier, 1927 from the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The specimens were recorded at Parque Ibirapuera Conservação, an urban green area located in the southern part of the city of São Paulo. The sampling was performed in 2015, 2016, and 2017 using pitfall traps. In total, 224 specimens (one major worker and 223 minor workers) of P. tijucana were recorded. Our new data help fill a distribution gap and highlights the importance of reporting species that are a challenge to identify.