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Species Tapinoma melanocephalum - Ghost Ant

Tapinoma melanocephalum - female Ghost ant invasion ... yikes! - Tapinoma melanocephalum Ant - drinking water (with inset) - Tapinoma melanocephalum Is this Tapinoma? - Tapinoma melanocephalum Possibly Tapinoma melanocephalum - Tapinoma melanocephalum - female Tiny yellow ant - Tapinoma melanocephalum ant - Tapinoma melanocephalum tiny ant indoors - Tapinoma melanocephalum
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies)
No Taxon (Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps)
Superfamily Formicoidea (Ants)
Family Formicidae (Ants)
Subfamily Dolichoderinae (Odorous Ants)
Tribe Tapinomini
Genus Tapinoma
Species melanocephalum (Ghost Ant)
Explanation of Names
Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius)
Range
native to the Old World tropics(1), adventive elsewhere; in our area, established in FL (expanding) and reached TX in mid-1990s (prob. through Galveston on a shipment of plants from FL); infestations reported in many areas as far north as MB, but in cooler areas the ant can only survive indoors (greenhouses, etc.)
Internet References
Fact sheet (Nickerson et al. 2012)(2)
Works Cited
1.Exotic ants in Florida
Deyrup M., Davis L., Cover S. 2000. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 126: 293-326.
2.University of Florida: Featured Creatures