Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger, 1859)

Hypoponera punctatissima is a relatively nondescript small, shining brownish yellow to dark brown species with short antennal scapes and minute but conspicuous eyes. Although likely native to the Afrotropics or possibly Central Asia (Delabie & Blard, 2002), the species was first described from hothouses in Germany (Roger, 1859)and has established introduced populations across the nearly all the globe’s warmer regions in addition to many colder regions such as northern Europe and northern North America (Delabie & Blard, 2002). It is most often collected from the leaf litter and rotting wood, and is often found in association with disturbed habitats such as gardens, plantations, and crop fields, in addition to buildings and hothouses in colder climates. In the southeastern United States H. punctatissima is considered a pest species on account of the nuisances and stings caused during the large dispersal flights of the females (Deyrup et al., 2000). The global distribution, biology and reasons for ecological success was reviewed by Delabie and Blard (2002).

Hypoponera punctatissima has a very complicated taxonomic history littered with infraspecific names, synonyms and misidentifications. The material and names associated with H. punctatissima in Europe (Seifert, 2003b)and the Afrotropical and West Palaearctic regions (Bolton & Fisher, 2011)were recently revised. Combined, these two revisions synonymized 16 previously published names with H. punctatissima. Of particular importance to the New World, evidence was marshaled by Bolton & Fisher to synonymize H. ergatandria Forel , which had previously been considered a distinct species in various North American and Caribbean studies. Those authors also synonymized H. schauinslandi (Emery) which Seifert had considered a distinct species based on micro-morphometrics subjected to discriminant analysis.