The Intranidal Myrmecophiles of the Maltese Islands with Notes on Nests as Repositories of Biodiversity.

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: sp. (Araneae: Phrurolithidae), (Berlese, 1904), Joharchi, Halliday, Saboori & Kamali, 2011 and (Berlese, 1892) (Mesostigmata: Laelapidae). 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 Westwood, 1849 (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the nest of (Latreille, 1798) and in the nest of (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 sp. occurring in a nest of Emery, 1905. Preliminary results indicate that nests may be repositories of considerable myrmecophile diversity, with the most unique symbionts.