Tapinoma from greek low position is a genus of ants that belongs to the subfamily dolichoderinae. They are recognised by their dark head and pale or translucent legs and gaster abdomen. Ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius insecta. Tapinoma melanocephalum was not mentioned in holway et al. The ghost ant tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius is a widely distributed invasive pest, probably of african or asian origin, that is now found in tropical and subtropical climates as well as in glass houses in temperate regions. They are bicolored with the head and mesosoma being dark brown to blackish brown and appendages, petiole, and gaster being milky white. In addition, they seem to be generalised foragers brown, 2000. To test this, we examined effects of tending by the native mutualistic ant tapinoma melanocephalum on growth of p. Field populations were confined to south florida, although active colonies had been reported as far north as gainesville, in alachua county bloomcamp and bieman, personal communication and duval county, mattis et.
Laboratory evaluation of a boric acid liquid bait on colonies of tapinoma melanocephalum argentine ants and. Arthropoda an arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed. This species may be difficult to control and does not feed much on ant baits. Tapinoma nigerrimum komt van nature voor in het middel landse zeegebied en heeft. Tapinoma melanocephalum has been recorded tending a myrmecophilous butterfly of the genus zizeeria warnecke. Ghost ants may develop huge colonies containing thousands of workers and numerous queens.
The ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, was considered a nuisance ant. In addition, technomyrmex workers are generally larger than tapinoma workers and are black rather than. Members of are generalized foragers, nesting in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from grasslands, open fields, woodlands, to inside buildings. Gland origin and electroantennogram activity of volatile. Anthemipteran mutualism has been well documented, and many studies have reported the interference competition between ant species for the mutualism.
Tapinoma melanocephalum workers figure 1 can be easily identified by their extremely small size and distinctive coloration. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Tapinoma melanocephalum is unlikely to displace other ant species in natural. Formicidae, dolichoderinae, has the widest distribution among ant species likely due to its invasion capability and it has been found throughout much of the tropics and subtropics wetterer 2009. The keys to control are to find the colonies and subcolonies and treat them directly.
Tapinoma melanocephalum also nests in plant cavities and potentially may compete with. Zoomed up photo of a ghost ant worker, taken from a site in east london. Pdf on jan 1, 2010, j c nickerson and others published ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius insecta. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Finally, 146 ant species have been recorded in ukraine. Tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, a new exotic pest in. Tapinoma melanocephalum is a ubiquitous invasive species and widely distributed in subtropical and tropical regions around the world.
Complete mitochondrial genome sequence of tapinoma. Strategies for controlling the ghost ant, tapinoma. Tiny, usually less than onesixteenth of an inch in length. Tapinoma melanocephalum is opportunistic nester that utilizes almost any cavity of sufficient size to house a colony. In contrast, tapinoma melanocephalum flourished in treatment plots, perhaps benefiting from reduced competition from other ant species. High tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius 1793 taxonomic category family. Sucrose triggers honeydew preference in the ghost ant, tapinoma. It is highly flexible in the habitats it occupies, providing there is some form of disturbance allowing it to establish ahead of more dominant ant species, and it nests readily outdoors or indoors. Colonies of tapinoma melanocephalum are reported from such isolated locations as the galapagos islands clark et al. The native ant, tapinoma melanocephalum, improves the.
Here, we sequenced and annotated the complete mitochondrial gen. The ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum, is one of the most widely distributed ant species, and has spread across the old world and new world in the northern and southern hemispheres. Ghost ant tapinoma melanocephalum and the invasive mealybug phenacoccus solenopsis have a close mutual relationship. Arthropoda an arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton external skeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages.
Nests may be found in disturbed areas, plant pots, under objects on the ground, under bark, at the bases of palm fronds, or other similar situations nickerson and bloomcamp, 2006. The genus currently comprises 74 described species distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate regions. Formicidae 2 in florida, the ghost ant is mostly found from sarasota to orlando and south, although it does occur as far north as gainesville in alachua county beauchamp 1997, klotz et al. Previous studies have shown that ghost ant tending can definitely reduce parasitism and visit frequency of aenasius bambawalei, the dominant endoparasitoid of p. The analyzed larvae presented many characteristics in common with other tapinoma forster larvae, such as. Tapinoma melanocephalum ant by dora engelleiter on prezi. A further proof of tapinoma melanocephalum in the gdr. The species was first recorded in hawaii in 1899 and soon became a common household pest. Reviews of pest ants in north america by smith 1965, thompson 1990, and deyrup et al. Tapinoma melanocephalum is a rapid coloniser and may benefit from control of other invasive ant species lee 2002.
Our study demonstrates that it is possible to selectively eradicate most of the foraging ants in a structurally complex tropical forest. Experimental suppression of ants foraging on rainforest. They have 12segmented antennae with the segments gradually thickening towards the tip. Tapinoma melanocephalum is a species of ant that goes by the common name ghost ant. This is a tramp species, introduced through human commerce into the united states and is now established in a number of locations in southern and central florida. Field populations were confined to south florida, although active colonies had been reported as far north as gainesville, in alachua county bloomcamp and bieman, personal. Insects free fulltext interference competition for. Tapinoma melanocephalum and tapinoma indicum colonies 96 4. Tapinoma melanocephalum colonies were collected from the suburb of wuhan and were separated from the soil. Novel rna virus genome discovered in ghost ants tapinoma. Tapinoma melanocephalum and tapinoma indicum colonies. Possibly originating in the indopacific region, the ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius hymenoptera.
Pdf ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius insecta. Instars were similar, differing only in body length. Download fulltext pdf tapinoma melanocephalum record of tapinoma melanocephalum in fukuoka prefecture, kyushu, japan article pdf available. The ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, is believed to have its origin in either the orient or afro tropical regions. It is highly flexible in the habitats it occupies, providing there is some form of disturbance allowing it to establish ahead of more dominant ant species, and it. Geographic distribution of tapinoma litorale hymenoptera. Previous studies demonstrated that the invasive mealybug phenacoccus solenopsis tinsley has established close mutual relationship. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the toxicity and control efficacy of boric acid in liquid bait against queen and worker ghost ants. We hypothesized that mutualism between native ants and mealybugs would favor survival of mealybugs. Early japanese collection records are from the botanical gardens at tennouji, osaka prefecture and takarazuka, hyogo prefecture. Laboratory evaluation of a boric acid liquid bait on. Morphological descriptions of the 4 instars of the ghostant tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius are presented along with illustrations and comparisons with other species of the same genus. In temperate latitudes, the ghost ant is reported established in greenhouses and other buildings with favorable conditions, even as far north as winnipeg, manitoba, canada, where a colony nested in an apartment block on. Tapinoma melanocephalum images from jant images of tapinoma melanocephalum, its description and distribution in japan are on this japanese ant database page.
The head and thorax are deep dark brown with opaque or milky white gaster and legs. Media in category tapinoma melanocephalum the following 66 files are in this category, out of 66 total. This video is about ghost ants tapinoma melanocephalum. Jun 01, 2010 morphological descriptions of the 4 instars of the ghostant tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius are presented along with illustrations and comparisons with other species of the same genus. The ghost ant tapinoma melanocephalum is extremely small, 1. Every ant tells a story and scientists explain their stories here. The ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, was considered a nuisance ant that was only occasionally important as a house pest within florida as late as 1988. Antmealybug mutualism modulates the performance of co.
The first record of the invasive ant tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, 1793 hymenoptera. Laboratory evaluation of a boric acid liquid bait on colonies. Occasionally introduced tramp ant species tapinoma melanocephalum. Chemistry and functions of exocrine secretions of the ants. In china, this ant is distributed extensively in the oriental region, and in the. The ghost ant is small, with average lengths ranging between 1. It has a single, flattened waist segment that is often hidden by the gaster, eyes that lie within the outline of the face, and no erect hairs on the mesosoma. Volatile constituents produced by ant workers belonging to the speciestapinoma melanocephalum andt. Tapinoma melanocephalum images on antweb this antweb site allows comparisons of closeup images of individuals within the species tapinoma melanocephalum. Tapinoma melanocephalum is known as a tramp ant as its spread around the globe has been assisted by human activities. This colouring makes this tiny ant seem even smaller. Tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius is established as a house pest in various regions of the world, not limited to its original climate zones. May 04, 2016 this video is about ghost ants tapinoma melanocephalum. Pdf description of the larvae of tapinoma melanocephalum.
Overview of species tapinoma melanocephalum from antweb. The ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, 1793, is a ubiquitous indoor and outdoor pest throughout much of the tropics and subtropics, and an increasingly common indoor pest in temperate. Information sheet number 32 l tapinoma melanocephalum risk. Description of the larvae of tapinoma melanocephalum. Tapinoma melanocephalum is a small ant, with average length of 1. Ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum urban and structural. However, little is known on how this interference competition impacts the reciprocally beneficial association.
Species of tapinoma utilize a wide variety of nest sites, including open soil, soil covered with rocks, wood or other plant material, rotten or dead wood, plant stems, or almost any appropriatelysized. It is bicoloured where the head and thorax is blackish brown and the abdomen and legs. Oct 27, 2015 the native ant, tapinoma melanocephalum, improves the survival of an invasive mealybug, phenacoccus solenopsis, by defending it from parasitoids dongdong feng 1 j. The multiplication of ghost ant colonies seems to occur only inside structures klotz. Myrmecological news 12 2333 vienna, september 2009. Worldwide spread of the ghost ant, tapinoma melanocephalum. Pest status tapinoma melanocephalums ability to form colonies in any suitable crevice has led to them being a common house infesting ant. The native ant, tapinoma melanocephalum, improves the survival of an invasive mealybug, phenacoccus solenopsis, by defending it from parasitoids by d. Tapinoma melanocephalum is known as a tramp ant as its spread around the globe has been assisted by human. The native ant, tapinoma melanocephalum, improves the survival of an invasive mealybug, phenacoccus solenopsis, by defending it from parasitoids dongdong feng 1 j. Formicidae, an imported ant species new to finland, with observations and a taxonomic note. Tapinoma melanocephalum is attracted to sugars and has been observed to tend honeydew producing insects, as well as feeding on dead and live insects insects smith 1965. Tapinoma melanocephalum fabricius, 1793 hymenoptera.
The genus tapinoma foerster comprises 126 described species and subspecies bolton et al. The pacific invasive ant key piakey manual pacific invasive ants taxonomy workshop manual can both be used in identifying invasive ants in the pacific region. Tapinoma melanocephalum, commonly known as the ghost ant or darkheaded ant, is a very small species with a dark head that contrasts with the paler appendages and gaster. Tapinoma melanocephalum formicidae hear species info. Ghost ants tapinoma melanocephalum characteristics. Text is available under the creative commons attributionsharealike license. This page was last edited on 9 december 2014, at 02.
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