This is a widespread tropical tramp species, introduced throughout the world. Its native range is unknown. It is ubiquitous in non-airconditioned dwellings anywhere in the lowland tropics. Regardless of whether you are in Guinea, New Guinea, or Guyana, if you are sitting at a table with a sugar dispenser you are likely to see workers of T. melanocephalum running about on the surface. They always seem to be able to find their way into the sugar container, and sugar on tropical tables always contains some non-negligible fraction of T. melanocephalum workers. When you put a spoonful of sugar in your drink, you can judge the level of contamination by how many workers are left floating on the surface.
In quantitative biodiversity surveys, this species often has to be excluded from data analysis because the laboratory where samples are processed contains T. melanocephalum as a pest, and contamination of samples occurs.
Although most often found in houses, they can also move out into surrounding vegetation in highly disturbed and highly insolated habitats, opportunistically nesting in small plant cavities. Nests readily relocate, and overnight they can move into a shoe or an umbrella left on a porch.
Taxonomic history
[Misspelled as melanorephalum by Santschi, 1924c PDF: 112.].Emery, 1887a PDF: 249 (m.); Forel, 1891c PDF: 102 (q.); Wheeler & Wheeler, 1951 PDF: 197 (l.); Crozier, 1970a PDF: 119 (k.); Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 499 (w.q.m.).Combination in Lasius: Fabricius, 1804 PDF: 417.Combination in Myrmica: Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835 PDF: 185.Combination in Micromyrma: Roger, 1862b PDF: 258.Combination in Tapinoma: Mayr, 1862 PDF: 651; Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 165.Combination in Tapinoma (Micromyrma): Santschi, 1928e PDF: 475.Status as species: Latreille, 1802a PDF: 269; Fabricius, 1804 PDF: 417; Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835 PDF: 185; Smith, 1858a PDF: 46; Roger, 1862b PDF: 258; Roger, 1863b PDF: 14; Mayr, 1863a PDF: 455; Mayr, 1876 PDF: 83; Forel, 1881 PDF: 3; Mayr, 1884 PDF: 31; Mayr, 1886c PDF: 359; Emery, 1887a PDF: 249; Forel, 1891c PDF: 101 (redescription); André, 1892c PDF: 51; Forel, 1893j PDF: 352; André, 1893b PDF: 152; Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 164; Emery, 1893f PDF: 89; Emery, 1893g PDF: 194; Emery, 1893h PDF: 249; Emery, 1893i PDF: 267; Forel, 1895a PDF: 49; Forel, 1895b PDF: 109; Forel, 1895f PDF: 472; Emery, 1895g PDF: 337; Pergande, 1896 PDF: 870; Mayr, 1897 PDF: 432; Emery, 1897: 573; Forel, 1899a PDF: 120; Forel, 1899b PDF: 101; Emery, 1900: 696; Emery, 1901h PDF: 121; Forel, 1902j PDF: 476; Rothney, 1903: 98; Bingham, 1903 PDF: 304; Wheeler, 1905c PDF: 131; Emery, 1906c PDF: 177; Wheeler, 1907b PDF: 275; Forel, 1907h PDF: 9; Wheeler, 1908a PDF: 150; Forel, 1908a PDF: 64; Wheeler, 1909c PDF: 272; Wheeler, 1909d PDF: 336, 342; Yano, 1910a PDF: 421; Wheeler, 1911a PDF: 29; Wheeler, 1912a PDF: 46; Forel, 1912l PDF: 164; Emery, 1913a PDF: 41; Forel, 1913g PDF: 197; Forel, 1913l PDF: 93; Wheeler, 1913b PDF: 498; Wheeler, 1913e PDF: 242; Wheeler, 1913f PDF: 237; Santschi, 1914d PDF: 377; Emery, 1914f PDF: 420; Donisthorpe, 1915f: 342; Viehmeyer, 1916a PDF: 142; Mann, 1916 PDF: 473; Wheeler, 1916f PDF: 330; Crawley, 1916b PDF: 375; Donisthorpe, 1918c PDF: 167; Wheeler, 1919d: 275; Wheeler, 1919f PDF: 100; Santschi, 1920h PDF: 172; Mann, 1921 PDF: 473; Wheeler, 1922: 924, 1034; Wheeler, 1922e PDF: 15; Borgmeier, 1923: 101; Wheeler, 1923c PDF: 4; Wheeler, 1924b PDF: 110; Crawley, 1924a PDF: 403; Santschi, 1924c PDF: 112; Mann, 1925b PDF: 6; Mukerjee & Ribeiro, 1925 PDF: 207; Karavaiev, 1926d PDF: 441; Stärcke, 1926a PDF: 118 (in key); Donisthorpe, 1927c: 395; Wheeler, 1927d PDF: 7; Wheeler, 1927h PDF: 99; Wheeler, 1928c PDF: 30; Cheesman & Crawley, 1928 PDF: 522; Santschi, 1928c PDF: 70; Wheeler, 1929g PDF: 8; Wheeler, 1929h PDF: 57; Karavaiev, 1930a PDF: 213; Menozzi, 1930b PDF: 114; Menozzi, 1930h PDF: 328; Menozzi & Russo, 1930 PDF: 165; Smith, 1930a PDF: 5; Wheeler, 1930k PDF: 73; Donisthorpe, 1932c PDF: 449; Wheeler, 1932a PDF: 13; Wheeler, 1932g PDF: 17; Wheeler, 1934a PDF: 178; Wheeler, 1934i: 16; Donisthorpe, 1935 PDF: 634; Menozzi, 1935b PDF: 200; Wheeler, 1935g: 36; Wheeler, 1936c PDF: 204; Wheeler, 1937a PDF: 23; Smith, 1937 PDF: 861; Teranishi, 1940: 59; Yasumatsu, 1940c PDF: 68; Donisthorpe, 1941h PDF: 60; Santschi, 1941 PDF: 277; Wheeler, 1942 PDF: 252; Menozzi, 1942a PDF: 178; Eidmann, 1944 PDF: 459, 469; Stärcke, 1944d PDF: xviii; Donisthorpe, 1948g PDF: 139; Weber, 1948b PDF: 85; Creighton, 1950a PDF: 352; Smith, 1951c PDF: 838; Azuma, 1951 PDF: 88; Chapman & Capco, 1951 PDF: 192; Smith, 1954c PDF: 10; Smith, 1958c PDF: 141; Kempf, 1961b PDF: 520; Wilson, 1962c PDF: 18; Linsley & Usinger, 1966 PDF: 175; Baltazar, 1966 PDF: 263; Smith, 1967a PDF: 365; Wilson & Taylor, 1967b PDF: 80; Taylor, 1967b PDF: 1094; Kempf, 1972b PDF: 247; Alayo, 1974 PDF: 24 (in key); Bolton & Collingwood, 1975: 8 (in key); Taylor, 1976a: 87; Taylor, 1976b: 197; Francoeur, 1977b PDF: 207; Smith, 1979: 1421; Collingwood, 1979 PDF: 36; Onoyama, 1980a PDF: 199; Collingwood, 1985 PDF: 243; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 77; Deyrup et al., 1989 PDF: 99; Morisita et al., 1991: 7; Wu & Wang, 1992c PDF: 1311; Perrault, 1993 PDF: 333; Dlussky, 1994a: 55; Shattuck, 1994 PDF: 147; Douwes, 1995: 91; Bolton, 1995b: 400; Wu & Wang, 1995a: 116; Dorow, 1996a PDF: 82; Collingwood et al., 1997 PDF: 509; Tiwari, 1999 PDF: 83; Deyrup et al., 2000: 300; Mathew & Tiwari, 2000 PDF: 342; Zhou, 2001a PDF: 150; Wetterer, 2002 PDF: 129; Zhang & Zheng, 2002 PDF: 218; Blard et al., 2003 PDF: 133; Deyrup, 2003 PDF: 47; Imai et al., 2003 PDF: 84; Lin & Wu, 2003: 60; Wetterer & Vargo, 2003 PDF: 417; Collingwood et al., 2004 PDF: 486; Ghosh et al., 2005 PDF: 10; Jaitrong & Nabhitabhata, 2005 PDF: 42; Ward, 2005 PDF: 27; Wetterer, 2006 PDF: 415; Wetterer et al., 2007 PDF: 31; Wild, 2007b PDF: 25; Clouse, 2007b PDF: 206; Don, 2007: 191; Framenau & Thomas, 2008 PDF: 59; Heterick, 2009 PDF: 58; Terayama, 2009 PDF: 199; Wetterer, 2009b PDF: 23; Boer, 2010: 16; Mohanraj et al., 2010 PDF: 7; Collingwood et al., 2011 PDF: 415; Csosz et al., 2011 PDF: 58; Pfeiffer et al., 2011 PDF: 34; Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012 PDF: 254; Ellison et al., 2012: 105; Guénard & Dunn, 2012 PDF: 26; Sarnat & Economo, 2012 PDF: 37; Sharaf et al., 2012a 10.3897/zookeys.212.3325 PDF: 40 (in key); Hita Garcia et al., 2013 PDF: 202; Sarnat et al., 2013 PDF: 69; Borowiec, 2014 PDF: 168 (see note in bibliography); Ramage, 2014 PDF: 154; Bezděčková et al., 2015 PDF: 109; Bharti et al., 2016 PDF: 19; Jaitrong et al., 2016 PDF: 22; Wetterer et al., 2016 PDF: 20; Radchenko, 2016: 92; Sharaf et al., 2017 10.1080/00222933.2016.1271157 PDF: 5; Deyrup, 2017: 176; Sharaf et al., 2018 10.20362/am.010004 PDF: 3; Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 499 (redescription); García-Avendaño & Guerrero, 2018 10.25100/socolen.v44i2.7324 PDF: 226 (redescription) ; Dekoninck et al., 2019 PDF: 1158; Guerrero, 2019 PDF: 717; Lubertazzi, 2019 10.3099/MCZ-43.1 PDF: 184.Senior synonym of Tapinoma melanocephalum australis: Wilson & Taylor, 1967b PDF: 80; Smith, 1979: 1421; Shattuck, 1994 PDF: 148; Bolton, 1995b: 401; Zhou, 2001a PDF: 150; Imai et al., 2003 PDF: 84; Ramage, 2014 PDF: 154; Radchenko, 2016: 92; Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 500.Senior synonym of Tapinoma melanocephalum coronatum: Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 500.Senior synonym of Tapinoma familiaris: Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 165; Forel, 1895b PDF: 109; Forel, 1895f PDF: 472; Pergande, 1896 PDF: 870; Forel, 1899b PDF: 101; Wheeler, 1908a PDF: 150; Emery, 1913a PDF: 41; Wheeler, 1919d: 276; Wheeler, 1919f PDF: 100; Wheeler, 1922: 925; Borgmeier, 1923: 101; Creighton, 1950a PDF: 352; Smith, 1954c PDF: 10; Smith, 1979: 1421; Shattuck, 1994 PDF: 148; Bolton, 1995b: 401; Zhou, 2001a PDF: 150; Imai et al., 2003 PDF: 84; Radchenko, 2016: 93; Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 499.Senior synonym of Tapinoma luffae: Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 500.Senior synonym of Tapinoma melanocephalum malesianum: Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 500.Senior synonym of Tapinoma nana: Emery, 1892c PDF: 166; Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 165; Forel, 1895b PDF: 109; Forel, 1895f PDF: 472; Pergande, 1896 PDF: 870; Forel, 1899b PDF: 101; Wheeler, 1908a PDF: 150; Emery, 1913a PDF: 41; Wheeler, 1919d: 275; Wheeler, 1919f PDF: 100; Wheeler, 1922: 925; Borgmeier, 1923: 101; Creighton, 1950a PDF: 352; Smith, 1954c PDF: 10; Smith, 1979: 1421; Shattuck, 1994 PDF: 148; Bolton, 1995b: 400; Tiwari, 1999 PDF: 83; Zhou, 2001a PDF: 150; Radchenko, 2016: 92; Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 499.Senior synonym of Tapinoma pellucida: Mayr, 1886c PDF: 359; Forel, 1891c PDF: 102; Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 165; Forel, 1895b PDF: 109; Forel, 1895f PDF: 472; Pergande, 1896 PDF: 870; Forel, 1899b PDF: 101; Wheeler, 1908a PDF: 150; Emery, 1913a PDF: 41; Wheeler, 1919d: 275; Wheeler, 1919f PDF: 100; Wheeler, 1922: 925; Borgmeier, 1923: 101; Creighton, 1950a PDF: 352; Smith, 1954c PDF: 10; Smith, 1979: 1421; Shattuck, 1994 PDF: 148; Bolton, 1995b: 400; Zhou, 2001a PDF: 150; Imai et al., 2003 PDF: 84; Radchenko, 2016: 92; Guerrero, 2018 10.11646/zootaxaa.4410.3.4 PDF: 499.I [introduced species]
(*) (41, w). Running workers were detected in irrigated gardens next to recently built bungalows. This is the first record for El Hierro of this well known tramp species.
Central, Concepción (ALWC, INBP). [* = species not native to Paraguay]
- Colombo.
(No. 16 a). [[ worker ]] et [[ queen ]]. Espece cosmopolite des tropiques.
(16). Common about houses at Kingstown, and at Georgetown. Its white abdomen and quick, jerky walk give it a very peculiar appearance. The formicarium is small, consisting apparently of a single chamber, in a cavity of a wall, or under a stone. There may be fifty or more workers in the colony.
(16 a). Near Kingstown; shady place on a hill-side near sea-level. Small nest in rubbish lodged between two stones.
(Found also at Georgetown, on the windward coast).
- Cosmopolite.
[[ worker ]] [[ queen ]]. Seychelles: Silhouette, Mare aux Cochons, 1000 pieds.
Tapinoma melanocephalum is a species of ant that goes by the common name ghost ant. They are recognised by their dark head and pale or translucent legs and gaster (abdomen). This colouring makes this tiny ant seem even smaller.
The ghost ant is small, with average lengths ranging between 1.3 to 2.0 millimetres (0.051 to 0.079 in) in workers.[1] The antennae composes of 12 segments that thickens towards the tip.[2] The antennal scapes exceeds the occipital border. The head and thorax is a dark brown colour while the gaster, legs and antennae are a milky white colour.[2][1] Due to its small size and light colour, the ghost ant is difficult to see.[3] Ghost ants are monomorphic and the thorax is spineless.[2] The gaster is hairless, and has a back opening that is similar to a slit-like opening.[3] The abdominal pedicel is formed upon a single segment that is usually unable to be seen due to the gaster, and the species do not contain a stinger.[2] During development, this species undergoes three larval instars, which are all naked and fusiform, with reduced mouthparts.[4]
The queens are similar in appearance to a worker, but the alitrunk (mesosoma) is enlarged. The queen measures 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in) in length, making them the largest member of the colony. The male's head and dorsum is dark in colour, while the gaster is light in that may contain several dark marks. They are usually 2.0 millimetres (0.079 in) in length.[1]
Due to how widespread the ghost ant is, the exact native range is not exactly known.[5] However, the species is assumed to originate from the African or Oriental regions, seeing it is a tropical species.[6] This has been proven considering the ghost ant cannot adapt to colder climates and are only confined to greenhouses and buildings that provide considerable conditions that allows the species to thrive, although a colony of ghost ants was discovered in an apartment block in Canada.[7] One report has even stated the presence of ghost ants in isolated regions, with a colony being found in the Galapagos Islands.[8] The ant is found in 154 geographical areas.[9]
The species is a common pest in the United States, particularly in the states of Hawaii and Florida, although the species is expanding further north, even reaching Texas by the mid 1990s.[10] They are commonly found in the southern parts of Florida, and is considered a key pest, along with several other invasive ant species.[11] The earliest record of the ghost ant in the United States was in 1887, where the species was found in Hawaii.[12] It was then recorded in Washington, D.C. in 1894.[13] After these two records, the ghost ant would later be found in Maine, New York, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.[9][14] Ghost ants can be found in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[15]
Tapinoma melanocephalum is a species of ant that goes by the common name ghost ant. They are recognised by their dark head and pale or translucent legs and gaster (abdomen). This colouring makes this tiny ant seem even smaller.
