Florida Entomologist (2010) 93, 243-247

Carlos Massuretti De Jesus, Eduardo Gonçalves Paterson Fox, Daniel Russ Solis, Antonio Teruyoshi Yabuki, Monica Lanzoni Rossi and Odair Correa Bueno (2010)
Description of the larvae of Tapinoma melanocephalum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Florida Entomologist 93 (2), 243-247
Abstract: Morphological descriptions of the 4 instars of the ghost-ant Tapinoma melanocephalum Fabricius are presented along with illustrations and comparisons with other species of the same genus. Instars were similar, differing only in body length. The analyzed larvae presented many characteristics in common with other Tapinoma Förster larvae, such as: dolichoderoid body and mandibles, 9 pairs of spiracles, the presence of a terminal boss, and scarce body and head setae, all simple and short. We observed the following differences from other previous descriptions: the presence of a subapical mandibular tooth, setaceous sensilla on the medial anterior surface of the labrum, and fewer sensilla on maxillary and labial palps.
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Database assignments for author(s): Odair Correa Bueno

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tapinoma melanocephalum		Brazil (south)