Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793 )

Singh, Sudhir, Colombo, Wesley D., Shreevihar, Santhosh, Pandey, Vijay P. & Tribull, Carly M., 2021, Rediscovery of Kurian’s types of Hymenoptera at Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, India with notes on Indian bethylid fauna, Zootaxa 5019 (1), pp. 1-90 : 80-84

50. Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793)

Fig. 50 , A–G

Neoclystopsenella luffae Kurian, 1955 , 4: 133, 134, Figs 251–255.

Type locality: Delhi, India (♂ holotype, NFIC-FRI), synonymized by Guerrero (2018) .

Diagnosis. Male. Length 2.4 mm. General colour dark reddish-brown. Head as long as wide; frons weakly coriaceus; ocelli distinct, posterior to supra-ocular line; eye glabrous; mandible pincer-shaped, one tooth apically and small serrations ventrally; palpal formula 6:4; antenna with 13 segments, scape extremely long, surpassing posterior cephalic margin by distance slightly less than distance between frontal carinae. Propleura wide; mesonotum anteriorly curved. Wings hyaline; forewing with pterostigma light brown. Metasoma polished.

Material examined. Holotype: [ INDIA,] Delhi { National Capital Territory of Delhi}, on Luffa , 2-VII-1938, Imperial Entomologist, Kapoor coll. Paratypes: 2♂, same data of holotype ; 1♂ same data of the holotype, except on cowpea and 5-VII-1938 .

Type conditions. Holotype completely dissected on slide . On slides : S1 C1—two flagellomeres and two hind wings. S2 C1—head, mesosoma and metasoma. S2 C2—three fragments of legs—first: femur, tibia, tarsi; second and third: tibia and tarsi; antenna without scape. Paratypes completely dissected on slides . S3 C1—head, mesosoma and metasoma. S4 C1—two legs without coxae. S4 C2—one forewing. S5 C1—one antenna; two legs (one without coxae), one forewing and one hind wing.

Remarks. This species was originally allocated in Neoclystopsenella Kurian, 1955 . Brown (1988) synonymized Neoclystopsenella with Tapinoma and reported: “ The specific identity of Tapinoma luffae new combination remains obscure, but judging from the small size given (2.4 mm) and the wing venation as figured by Kurian, it may be close to or the same as T. melanocephalum or one of its relatives in subgenus Micromyrma. Recently Guerrero (2018) reviewed the species Tapinoma luffae and proposed this species as a junior synonym of T. melanocephalum .

Figures

FIGURE 50. A–G. Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793). Holotype.A. Head, frontal view; B. Mesosoma, lateral view; C. Antenna; D. Forewing; E. Metasoma; F. Tip of Metasoma showing ovipositor; G. Five slides, upper two of holotype and rest paratypes.