Superfamily FORMICOIDEA 1421 



Genus TAPINOMA Foerster 



Tapinoma Foerster, 1850. Hym. Stud. 1: 43. 



Type-species: Tapinoma colliyia Foerster. Monotypic. 

 Micromyrma Dufour, 1857. Soc. Ent. de France, Aim. 5: 60. 



Type-species: Micromyrma pygmaea Dufour. Monotypic. 

 Tapinoma subg. Tapinoptera Santschi, 1925. Eos 1: 348. 



Type-species: Tapinoma vexatum Santschi. Monotypic. 



At least one of the three North American species is introduced. Nests are found in a variety 

 of situations and workers commonly attend honeydew-excreting insects. All of the species emit a 

 substance with an odor similar to that of butyric acid. 



Taxonomy: Wheeler and Wheeler, 1951. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 53: 172 (larvae). 



Morphology: Torossian, 1%0. Insectes Sociaux 7: 171-174 (physiology of the Palearctic 



Tapinoma erraticum (Latreille)). —Weber, 1961. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 63: 217-218 (use of 

 poison). 

 litorale Wheeler. S. Fla.; W. Indies. Ecology: Apparently arboreal, nesting in twigs of trees 

 and bushes, hollow culms, or between leaves. 

 Tapinoma litorale Wheeler, 1905. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bui. 21: 109. 5, 9, 6. 



Taxonomy: Smith, 1936. Puerto Rico Univ., Jour. Agr. 20: 861-862. 



Biology: Wheeler, 1908. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., Bui. 24: 150. —Wheeler, 1932. N. Y. Ent. Soc., 



Jour. 40: 13. 

 melanocephalum (Fabricius). Fla., where it is established; occasionally found in greenhouses 

 or heated buildings in other parts of the continent such as Ont., Iowa., N. Mex., CaUf.; 

 tropicopolitan. Ecology: Highly adaptable in nesting habits; found in soil, rotten wood, 

 decayed parts of trees, under bark, in plant cavities, houses, and greenhouses. Workers 

 are fond of honeydew but also feed on live and dead insects. A house-infesting ant. 

 Introduced; widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world by commerce. 



Formica melanocephala Fabricius, 1793. Ent. System. 2: 353. 5 . 



Formica nanfl Jerdon, 1851. Madras Jour. Lit. Sci. 17: 125. 5. 



Myrmica pelludda Smith, 1857. Linn. Soc. London, Jour., Zool. 2: 71. 5 . 



Formica familiaris Smith, 1860. Linn. Soc. London, Jour., Zool., Sup. 4: 96. 5. 



Tapinoma {Micromyrma) melanocephalum war. australis Santschi, 1928. Insects of Samoa 

 5:53. 5. 



Taxonomy: Smith, 1928. Ent. Soc. Amer., Ann. 21: 311. —Smith, 1936. Puerto Rico Univ., 

 Jour. Agr. 20: 861-862. —Wheeler and Wheeler, 1951. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 53: 197 

 (larva). — WUson and Taylor, 1967. Pacific Ins. Monog. 14: 79-82 (Polynesia). 



Biology: Wheeler, 1910. Ants, pp. 154, 156. — Marlatt, 1928. U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 

 740: 6. —Phillips, 1934. Hawaii Univ., Expt. Sta. Pineapple Prod. Coop. Assoc., Bui. 15: 

 20-21. —King, 1948. Iowa Acad. Sci., Proc. 55: 395. — Kempf, 1961. Studia Ent. 4: 520. 

 —Brown, 1964. Ent. News 75: 14-15. —Smith, 1965. U. S. Dept. Agr., Tech. Bui. 1326: 

 59-60 (economic importance). — Tamsitt and Fox, 1966. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 68: 268 

 (attacking lab. flea colony). —Gomez-Nunez, 1971. Jour. Med. Ent. 8: 735-737 (an inhibitor 

 of Rhodimis prolixus populations). 



Morphology: Weber, 1961. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 63: 218 (employment of venom). 

 sessile (Say). N. S., Que. s. to Fla., w. to Wash., Calif.; Mexico. Ecology: A very adaptable ant 

 found in a wide variety of habitats. Most nests are in the soil beneath objects but also 

 under bark, in stumps, plant cavities, insect galls, refuse pUes, and bird and mammal 

 nests. Colonies may contain thousands of individuals and numerous reproductive 

 females. A common and troublesome house-infesting ant. Food consists mainly of 

 honeydew and workers attend honeydew-excreting insects. Odorous house ant. 



Formica sessilis Say, 1836. Boston Jour. Nat. Hist. 1: 287. 5,9. 



Tapinoma bareale Roger, 1863. Berlin. Ent. Ztschr. 7: 165. 5,9. 



Formica gracilis Buckley, 1866. Ent. Soc. Phila., Proc. 6: 158. 9, 9. 



Formica parva Buckley, 1866. Ent. Soc. Phila., Proc. 6: 159. 9. 



