Tapinoma

Small dolichoderine ants. One species, T. melanocephalum, is a widespread, pantropical tramp species. Taxonomy of South American species is unresolved.

Tapinoma atriceps Emery 1888

on Hymenoptera Name Server

Identification:
bicolored: head, mesopleura and gaster dark brown; rest of body yellowish.

Taxonomic Notes:
Similar in coloration to the unrelated Linepithema leucomelas. Forel (1908) described a variant T. atriceps breviscapum which has much shorter antennal scapes (see picture of syntype, photographed by C. Klingenberg for the FoCol project)

Natural History:
T. atriceps is an arborical Atlantic Forest species. I have found it only once on a tree trunk near the base station of Cachoeira reserve (Bom Jesus).

Offline References

Forel, A. (1908): Ameisen aus Sao Paulo (Brasilien), Paraguay, etc. Gesammelt von Prof. Herm. v. Ihering, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Fiebrig, etc. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 58: 340-418. Browse or download entire file.

Online References