The Intranidal Myrmecophiles of the Maltese Islands with notes on Messor Nests as repositories of biodiversity

Abstract

The intranidal myrmecophilous arthropod fauna of the Maltese Islands is reviewed. Thirty species from nine orders are found to be obligate myrmecophiles, of which four species are recorded from the Maltese archipelago for the first time: Phrurolithus sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), Pogonolaelaps canestrinii (Berlese, 1904), Gymnolaelaps messor Joharchi, Halliday, Saboori & Kamali, 2011 and G. myrmecophilus (Berlese, 1892) (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae). Phrurolithus also represents the first record of the family Phrurolithidae in Malta. Notes on the biology and local distribution of each species are provided, including ant-myrmecophile associations, of which two appear to be previously unknown: the occurrence of Smynthurodes betae Westwood, 1849 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the nest of Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille, 1798) and Phrurolithus in the nest of Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849). Fourteen additional species are found to be either only occasionally myrmecophilic, accidental ant-guests or potentially myrmecophilous, the latter remaining ambiguous due to a lack of knowledge of their biology. Of these, the family Caeculidae (Arachnida: Trombidiformes) represents a new record for the Maltese Islands, on the basis of Microcaeculus sp. occurring in a nest of Camponotus barbaricus Emery, 1905. Preliminary results indicate that Messor nests may be repositories of considerable myrmecophile diversity, with the most unique symbionts.