Tetramorium lanuginosum

From the abstract of Wetterer (2010): The wooly ant, Tetramorium lanuginosum MAYR, 1870 (senior synonym of Triglyphothrix striatidens (EMERY, 1889)), has long been recognized as a widespread tramp species dispersed through human commerce. Based on its distribution and those of its closest known relatives, T. lanuginosum appears to be native to tropical and subtropical East Asia and perhaps also northern Australia and western Oceania. Tetramorium lanuginosum appears to be particularly common on small islands, possibly due to reduced competition with dominant ants in these habitats. Recent first records of T. lanuginosum on many islands of Samoa, the Galapagos, Madagascar (and neighboring island groups), and the West Indies suggest that exotic populations of T. lanuginosum are expanding on numerous tropical islands. Nonetheless, it appears unlikely that T. lanuginosum will ever become a significant exotic pest species, except perhaps on small tropical islands.

Distribution
From Wetterer (2010): Tetramorium lanuginosum is widespread in tropical and subtropical parts of Asia, Australia, and Oceania. Outside of this region, most T. lanuginosum records are concentrated in just three areas, where nearly all records come from the past ten years: Madagascar (and neighboring island groups), the Galapagos, and the Eastern Caribbean. There have also been scattered reports of T. lanuginosum from other areas, including tropical Africa, the Mediterranean, Mexico, and the southeastern US. In Northern Europe T. lanuginosum has been reported from three sites in England (Kew Gardens, the Birmingham Botanical Garden, and the Dudley Zoo) and one site in the Netherlands (an indoor record in Amsterdam; DE JONGE 1985).

This taxon was described from Indonesia (Java).



Distribution records of Tetramorium lanuginosum as provided by James Wetterer, 2010.