Galapagos Species Database

On July 11, 2025, personnel from área de Vigilancia Fitosanitaria of the Agencia de Regulación y Control de la Bioseguridad y Cuarentena para Galápagos (ABG) conducted a sampling of formicids at the Feria Libre of Santa Cruz Island. The collected samples were properly preserved, labeled, and sent to the laboratory for the corresponding taxonomic analysis. On July 15, 2025, Lic. Erika Guerrero, Head of the Entomology Laboratory, carried out the preliminary morphological identification of the collected material, identifying a specimen belonging to the genus Pheidole sp. that did not match the diagnostic characteristics described for Pheidole megacephala, a species previously reported in the area. Accordingly, the sample was forwarded for molecular identification, which resulted in its identification as Pheidole indica.