Anoplolepis gracilipes

TaxID: 354296

Basic Information

Anoplolepis gracilipes

Ant, Yellow Crazy Ant

The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes), also known as the long-legged ant or Maldive ant, is a species of ant, thought to be native to Asia. They have been accidentally introduced to numerous places in the world's tropics. The yellow crazy ant has colloquially been given the modifier "crazy" on account of the ant's erratic movements when disturbed. Its long legs and antennae make it one of the largest invasive ant species in the world. Like several other invasive ants, such as the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), the big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala), the little fire ant (Wasmannia auropunctata), and the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), the yellow crazy ant is a "tramp ant", a species that easily becomes established and dominant in new habitat due to traits such as aggression toward other ant species, little aggression toward members of its own species, efficient recruitment, and large colony size. It is on a list of "one hundred of the world's worst invasive species" formulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), having invaded ecosystems from Hawaii to the Seychelles, and formed supercolonies on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. In 2023, a scientific article postulated a unique reproductive cycle for A. gracilipes, suggesting that males are obligate chimeras.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Hymenoptera

Formicidae

Anoplolepis

gracilipes

unclassified

Photos (0 photos)

No photos available.

Morphological Features

Worker: body length approximately 4–5 mm. Head, mesosoma, and gaster uniformly yellowish-brown to brownish-yellow. Head in full-face view with antennal sockets confluent with posterior margin of clypeus; malar space with lateral margin longer than maximum scape width. Antennae 12-segmented; scape extremely elongate, about 2× head length, lacking erect macrosetae; funiculus subequal to mesosoma length. Mandibles well-developed, triangular, with 8–9 denticles. Frons without paired macrosetae. Pronotum distinct, anterior margin slightly concave; in lateral view, anterior and dorsal margins of mesoscutum forming a right rounded angle. Forewing with media vein (M) incomplete, not reaching wing margin. Petiolar node nodiform. Dorsum of body without erect pilosity (contrasting with Paratrechina).

Source: GBIF Life Stage: Worker Source Type: Taxonomic treatment
Citation:

Plazi taxonomic treatment

Host Plants (0 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

No host plants available.

Quarantine Status (3 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Republic of Korea Quarantine pests —
New Zealand Quarantine pests —
French Polynesia Absent —

Distribution (38 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

38
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Australia Present —
Bangladesh Present —
Brunei Darussalam Present —
Cambodia Present —
China Present —
Cook Islands Present —
Fiji Present —
France Present —
Guam Present —
Hong Kong, China Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (5 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCF_047496725.1 Chromosome - - - - -
GCA_048542685.1 Scaffold - - - - -
GCA_031304115.1 Scaffold 243 2109 2665 -
GCA_028668095.1 Scaffold - - - - -
GCA_028658765.1 Scaffold - - - - -

Transcriptomes (3 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR32073878 Whole body of worker 4 - - 36567304 Thailand: Nakhon Nayok
SRR32073877 Whole body of worker 5 - - 32879172 Thailand: Nakhon Nayok
SRR32073876 Whole body of worker 6 - - 29691781 Thailand: Nakhon Nayok

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature