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Ooceraea biroi Forel, 1907
Nomenclature
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Synonyms: 1
SUMMARY
Ooceraea biroi is a small (2–3 mm), brown, blind subterranean ant with short antennal scapes, a distinctly two-segmented waist, a powerful sting, and a cylindrical body armored with thick cuticle. The species is very inconspicuous owing to its hypogaeic foraging, and is rarely collected. It believed to be native to Asia (Brown, 1975; Wetterer et al., 2012), where it is widely spread from Nepal, India and China to South East Asia, and has established introduced populations throughout the Pacific Islands (where it was referred to by its junior synonym O. silvestrii) and the West Indies. Outside Asia, all records of O. biroi come from islands, possibly due to reduced competition with dominant ants in island habitats (Wetterer et al., 2012). It is also the only known species within the Cerapachyinae to successfully establish populations outside its native range. The introduced populations are not known to have any adverse impacts on agricultural systems or human health. The general biology and worldwide distribution was profiled by Wetterer et al. (2012).