First Outdoor Continental Record of Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery, 1894 in Europe

Gema Trigos-Peral

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v73i1.11758

Authors

Gema Trigos-Peral Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda St. 51/55, 01-818 Warsaw, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8713-5703

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v73i1.11758

Keywords:

alien species, new record, ecological interactions, preventive measures, local biodiversity

Abstract

Plagiolepis alluaudi is a small, yellow, tropical tramp ant species that is rapidly spreading worldwide. In Europe, this species has primarily been reported in indoor environments, with outdoor populations previously found only in the Canary Islands (Spain). This study presents the first documented occurrence of P. alluaudi in outdoor continental Europe, with seemingly established populations discovered in Nerja (Malaga), a coastal town in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, characterized by mild environmental conditions associated to a subtropical climate. Given trends observed in other tropical species introduced into the Iberian Peninsula, additional populations of this species may be discovered in the coming years.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

AntWeb. Version 8.114. California Academy of Science, online at https://www.antweb.org [accessed 26 November 2024].

Blatrix, R., Colin, T., Wegnez, P., Galkowski, C. & Geniez, P. (2018). Introduced ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of mainland France and Belgium, with a focus on greenhouses. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (N.S.), 54: 293-308.

Bolton, B. (2012). AntCat: An online catalog of ants of the world. http://antcat.org, version 1 January 2012 [accessed 28 March 2025].

Borowiec, L., Lapeva-Gjonova, A. & Salata, S. (2023). Second record of Monomorium exiguum Forel, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Europe: Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology, 32: 1-6.

Catarineu, C., Barberá, G. G. & Reyes-López, J. L. (2018). Zoogeography of the Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Segura River Basin. Sociobiology, 65: 383-396.

Chouvenc, T., Scheffrahn, R. H. & Warner, J. (2018). Establishment of Alluaud’s little yellow ant, Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae): First continental New World record. Florida Entomologist, 101: 138-140.

Demetriou, J., Georgiadis, C., Martinou, A. F., Roy, H., Wetterer, J. K., Borowiec, L., Economo, E. P., Triantis, K. A. & Salata, S. (2023a). Running rampant: the alien ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Cyprus. NeoBiota, 88: 17-73.

Demetriou, J., Georgiadis, C., Koutsoukos, E., Borowiec, L. & Salata, S. (2023b). Alien ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) on a quest to conquer Greece: A review including an updated species checklist and guidance for future research. NeoBiota, 86: 81-122.

Espadaler, X., Pradera, C. & Santana, J. A. (2018). The first outdoor-nesting population of Wasmannia auropunctata in continental Europe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Iberomyrmex, 10: 5-9.

Espadaler Gelabert, X. & Lozano, L. (2023). Nylanderia steinheili (Forel, 1893), otra especie exótica, no invasora, en España (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 73: 159-162.

Espadaler, X. & Ruiz Ramos, J. (2024). Trichomyrmex mayri (Forel, 1902) nidificando en España (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Boletín de la Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología, 32: 117-122.

Freyhof, E. & Jantke, E. (2024). Introduced greenhouse-invertebrates in Potsdam and Berlin with a focus on ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with eight new records for Europe, Germany, or the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Contributions to Entomology, 74: 235-248.

Gian-Reto, W., Alain, R., Philip, E. H., Martin, T. S., Petr, P., Ingolf, K. & Martin, Z. (2009). Alien species in a warmer world: risks and opportunities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 24: 686-693.

Gippet, J. M., Sherpa, Z. & Bertelsmeier, C. (2023). Reliability of social media data in monitoring the global pet trade in ants. Conservation Biology, 37: e13994.

Gouraud, C. & Kaufmann, B. (2022). Nouvelles observations des fourmis invasives du complexe des Tapinoma gr. nigerrimum dans le Massif armoricain (Hym.: Formicidae). Invertébrés Armoricains – Les Cahiers du Gretia, 23: 23-38.

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.

Hernández-Teixidor, D., Pérez-Delgado, A. J., Suárez, D. & Reyes-López, J. L. (2020). Six new non-native ants (Formicidae) in the Canary Islands and their possible impacts. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 74: 151-158.

IPBES (2023). Summary for Policymakers of the Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, H. E., Pauchard, A., Stoett, P., Renard Truong, T., Bacher, S., Galil, B. S., Hulme, P. E., Ikeda, T., Sankaran, K. V., McGeoch, M. A., Meyerson, L. A., Nuñez, M. A., Ordonez, A., Rahlao, S. J., Schwindt, E., Seebens, H., Sheppard, A. W. & Vandvik, V. (eds.). IPBES Secretariat, Bonn, Germany.

Menchetti, M., Schifani, E., Alicata, A., Cardador, L., Sbrega, E., Toro-Delgado, E. & Vila, R. (2023). The invasive ant Solenopsis invicta is established in Europe. Current Biology, 33: R896-R897.

Miller, M. T. (2020). Biology, ecology, and control of alluaud’s little yellow ant, Plagiolepis alluaudi (Formicidae: Formicinae). MSc Thesis. University of Florida, USA. 89 pp.

Nardi, D., Rosace, M. C., Cendoya, M. & Marini, L. (2025). Trade Network Dynamics and Alien Plant Pest Introductions: A Global Analysis. Diversity and Distributions, 31: 1-12.

Pawluk, F., Borowiec, L. & Salata, S. (2022). First record of Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Poland. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology, 31 (online 006): 1-5.

Rabitsch, W. & Blight, O. (2021). The threat posed by alien ants to EU agriculture and the potential for phytosanitary measures to prevent importation. Technical note prepared by IUCN for the European Commission.

Reyes-López, J. L., Rodríguez-Reyes, M., Marín Herrera, J. & Reyes Fernández, A. (2021). Nuevos registros de la especie alóctona Brachymyrmex patagonicus cfr en Andalucía (España). Boletín de la Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología, 31: 172-174.

Reyes-López, J. L. & Rodríguez Reyes, M. (2022). An unstoppable process: The first record of Pheidole cfr navigans Forel, 1901 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) for continental Spain (Southern Europe). Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología, 46: 147-149.

Roy, D., Alderman, D., Anastasiu, P., Arianoutsou, M., Augustin, S., Bacher, S., Başnou, C., Beisel, J., Bertolino, S., Bonesi, L., Bretagnolle, F., Chapuis, J. L., Chauvel, B., Chiron, F., Clergeau, P., Cooper, J., Cunha, T., Delipetrou, P., Desprez-Loustau, M., Détaint, M., Devin, S., Didžiulis, V., Essl, F., Galil, B. S., Genovesi, P., Gherardi, F., Gollasch, S., Hejda, M., Hulme, P. E., Josefsson, M., Kark, S., Kauhala, K., Kenis, M., Klotz, S., Kobelt, M., Kühn, I., Lambdon, P. W., Larsson, T., Lopez-Vaamonde, C., Lorvelec, O., Marchante, H., Minchin, D., Nentwig, W., Occhipinti-Ambrogi, A., Olenin, S., Olenina, I., Ovcharenko, I., Panov, V. E., Pascal, M., Pergl, J., Perglová, I., Pino, J., Pyšek, P., Rabitsch, W., Rasplus, J., Rathod, B., Roques, A., Roy, H., Sauvard, D., Scalera, R., Shiganova, T. A., Shirley, S., Shwartz, A., Solarz, W., Vilà, M., Winter, M., Yésou, P., Zaiko, A., Adriaens, T., Desmet, P., Reyserhove, L. (2020). DAISIE – Inventory of alien invasive species in Europe. Version 1.7. Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). [accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-04-29].

Reyes-López, J. L., Rodríguez-Reyes, M., Herrera, J. & Reyes Hernández, A. (2021). Nuevos registros de la especie alóctona Brachymyrmex patagonicus cfr. en Andalucía (España). Boletín de la Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología, 31: 172-174.

Reyes-López, J. L. & Rodríguez Reyes, M. (2022). An unstoppable process: The first record of Pheidole cfr navigans Forel, 1901 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) for continental Spain (Southern Europe). Boletín de la Asociación Española de Entomología, 46: 147-149.

Reyes-López, J. L., Rodríguez Reyes, M. & Alarcón Azopardo, P. (2025). Una nueva especie de hormiga exótica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para España y Europa continental: Lepisiota capensis (Mayr, 1862). Boletín de la Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología, 35.

Salata, S., Borowiec, L. & Radchenko, A. G. (2018). Description of Plagiolepis perperamus, a new species from East-Mediterranean and redescription of Plagiolepis pallescens Forel, 1889 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 4415: 291-304.

Sarnat, E. M. & Suarez, A. V. (2012) Antkey. University of Illinois and Identification Technology Program, CPHST, PPQ, APHIS, USDA. https://antkey.myspecies.info/en [accessed 26 November 2024].

Schifani, E. (2019). Exotic ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) invading mediterranean Europe: a brief summary over about 200 years of documented introductions. Sociobiology, 66: 198-208.

Schifani, E., Grunicke, D., Montechiarini, A., Pradera, C., Vila, R. & Menchetti, M. (2024a). Alien ants spreading through Europe: Brachyponera chinensis and Nylanderia vividula in Italy. Biodiversity Data Journal, 12: e123502.

Schifani, E., Pezzin, A., Castracani, C. & Grasso, D. A. (2024b). First record of the exotic ant Hypoponera ergatandria in Italy, alongside reports of large indoor alate swarms and stinging queens. Sociobiology, 71: e10091.

Sharaf, M. R., Aldawood, A. S. & Taylor, B. (2011). The formicine ant genus Plagiolepis Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula, with description of two new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 137: 203-215.

Staab, M. (2019). Plagiolepis alluaudi Emery, 1894, a globally spreading exotic ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) newly recorded from Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 74: 83-91.