Anoplolepis gracilipes ( Smith, 1857 )

Hamer, Matthew T., Lee, Jonathan Hon Chung, Tse, Cheung Yau Leo, Silva, Thiago S. R. & Guénard, Benoit, 2022, Remarkable diversity in a little red dot: a comprehensive checklist of known ant species in Singapore (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with notes on ecology and taxonomy, Asian Myrmecology (e 015006) 15, pp. 1-152 : 35-36

Anoplolepis gracilipes ( Smith, 1857)

Material examined. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve , ZRC _ ENT00000343 ; same locality as previous, ZRC _ ENT00000361 ; Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Venus Loop , 1.35549, 103.81578, ZRC _ ENT00000729 ; Seletar Trail , 1.39097, 103.79952, ZRC _ ENT00000730 ; Pulau Ubin , ZRC _ ENT0007859 ; same locality as previous, ZRC _HYM_0000378; Mandai , ZRC _ ENT00013534 ; Mandai, Northern Node , 1.40842, 103.78319, 54 m a.s.l., ZRC _ ENT00013870 ; Mandai, Bird Park Buffer , near L10, 1.40536, 103.78228, 73 m a.s.l., ZRC _ ENT00013882 ; Kent Ridge Park, ZRC _HYM_0000376; MacRitchie Reservoir, ZRC _HYM_0000377; Pulau Sentosa, ZRC _HYM_0000911; Pulau Ubin, Outward Bound School grounds, 1.41662, 103.99443, ZRC _HYM_0001160; Kranji Road , 1.42638, 103.75413, ZRC _ HYM_0001179; same locality as previous, 7 Sep 2016, ZRC _HYM_0001192, 1195; same locality as previous, 5-7 Sep 2016, pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001193-1194, 1196; Mandai Road 3, M3D, 1.41119, 103.80513, ZRC _HYM_0001180; Sunset Way , 1.32609, 103.77187, 22-24 Aug 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001187; same locality as previous, 21-23 Aug 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001197- 1198, 1200; same locality and collection data as previous, trunk pitfall trap, ZRC _ HYM_0001199; Bukit Batok East Avenue 6, 1.34304, 103.76235, 27-29 Sep 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001201, 1203-1206; same locality as previous, 28-30 Aug 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _ HYM_0001189; same locality as previous, 30 Aug – 1 Sep 2016, G.W. Yong leg., trunk pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001190-1191; Seletar Link , 7 Dec 2015, M.K.L. Wong leg., Winkler extraction, ZRC _ ENT00000730 ; same locality as previous, 16-18 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., trunk pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001217, 1220-1221, 1224; same locality as previous, 23-25 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001210 – 1211; same locality as previous, 16 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001218, 1222, 1226; same locality as previous, 18 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001219, 1223, 1225, 1227; same locality as previous, 23 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg, ZRC _HYM_0001208, 1212, 1214- 1215; same locality as previous, 25 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001209, 1213, 1216; Upper Thomson Nature Park , 1.38311, 103.79835, 9-11 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001265-1266; same locality as previous, 2-4 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., pitfall trap, ZRC _HYM_0001267 – 1269; same locality as previous, 4 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001270.

Material not physically examined. Syntypes – CASENT0102951 , ANTC5313 ( OUMNH); CASENT0103001 , ANTC5357 ( OUMNH); CASENT0903237 , ANTC23099 ( BMNH) Non-types - numerous specimens from multiple localities, both catalogued and uncatalogued ( ZRC); ANIC32-012878 , RWTacc.68.25 ( ANIC); ANIC32-012879 , RWTacc.68.8 ( ANIC) .

Literature. Type – Smith (1857) [as Formica gracilipes ]. Viehmeyer (1916), Overbeck (1924) [both as Plagiolepis longipes ]; Wetterer (2005); Tan & Corlett (2012); Yong et al. (2017).

Localities. Bukit Batok East Avenue; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Central Catchment Nature Reserve; Kranji Road; MacRitchie Reservoir; Mandai; National University of Singapore (Kent Ridge/Clementi campus); Nee Soon; Pulau Ubin; Seletar Link; Seletar Trail; Sentosa; Singapore Botanic Gardens; Sunset Way; Upper Thomson Nature Park.

Habitat/Ecology. Broad range of different habitats of varying levels of disturbance in Singapore, including primary and mature secondary forests, degraded wasteland forests and spontaneous vegetation fragments in urban or semi-urban settings. These ants have very generalized foraging and nesting habits, typically found at high densities and extremely pervasive where they occur. Nests can be found under stones or in fallen rotting wood and logs.

Remarks. Singapore is the type locality of this infamous global invasive species. Anoplolepis gracilipes ( Smith, 1857) was originally a junior synonym of Anoplolepis longipes ( Jerdon, 1851) (synonymy by Emery 1887); hence Anoplolepis gracilipes ( Smith, 1857) became the first available replacement name for Anoplolepis longipes ( Jerdon, 1851) ( Bolton, 1995: 67), since the latter was identified as a junior primary homonym of Pheidole longipes ( Latreille, 1802) . Colonies can be polydomous and/or polygynous (forming ‘supercolonies’), with overwhelmingly numerous queens and workers. Colony dispersal by ‘budding’ has been documented for this highly invasive species.