Silhouette: Natalia Ladino · PhyloPic
Pheidole navigans
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pheidole navigans, also called the navigating big-headed ant or the wandering big-headed ant, is a species of big-headed ant in the Pheidole flavens species group. Native to the Neotropics, it is a widespread invasive species, however its ecological impacts are not considered significant as of 2022. Prior to 2015, it was classified as a synonym of Pheidole flavens, and it was misidentified in its invasive range as Pheidole moerens. As with the vast majority of species within the genus Pheidole, they possess a dimorphic caste system with a major and minor worker. They are small reddish-brown ants not larger than 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in) with a generalist ecology and flexible nest preferences.
Pheidole navigans is traditionally considered to be part of the Pheidole flavens species group, a large assemblage of primarily Neotropical big-headed ants containing over 160 species characterized by small size, vestigial or absent mesosomal convexity, and 12-segmented antennae. However, the P. flavens group was not phylogenetically recovered to be monophyletic in 2015, and therefore the grouping appears largely artificial. P. navigans appears to be closely related to P. moerens... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Navigating Big-Headed Ant sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 218th most-seen of the 851 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Navigating Big-Headed Ant in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Yes
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Navigating Big-Headed Ant sightings, Los Angeles has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come San Diego (United States, under 5%) and Miami (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Navigating Big-Headed Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Angeles (67 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
