Classification: | Kingdom: Animalia | Phylum: Arthropoda | Class: Insecta | Order: Hymenoptera | Family: Formicidae | Genus: Tapinoma |

The relatively larger creature surrounded by the ants looked like a queen ant.

This colony of ants with 3 larger versions was found in my kitchen. They seemed to be looking for a new place to build their nest.

The winged version:

The following nest was hidden under the sepals of a ripe mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana).

The ants farming mealy bugs.

The larger ant below is a Cocoa Black Ant (Dolichoderus thoracicus) while the 3 smaller ones are Ghost Ant.

Another similar-looking species, Tapinoma indicum, has much darker gaster (abdomen) and legs region [1]. Hence, the darker ants in the set of pictures above may be Tapinoma indicum. Both when squashed will produce a rotten coconut odour.

Reference:

[1] Chong KF, Lee CY. Food preferences and foraging activity of field populations of a pest ant, Tapinoma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 2006;48(3):875-883. | Read article |