Technomyrmex difficilis Forel, 1892

Material examined. Alates and workers, Mandai mangroves, 23 May 1979, D.H. Murphy leg., DHM-SG79-001, ZRC _ ENT00048398 .

Material not physically examined. Unknown.

Literature. Bolton (2007).

Localities. Botanic Gardens; Kent Ridge; Mandai mangroves.

Habitat/Ecology. This species was mostly found in urban parks and gardens. In mangroves, the ants were found nesting in decayed branches of Avicennia sp.

Remarks. Frequently confused with T. albipes, but can be distinguished from the latter species by the presence of setae on the head dorsum behind the level of the posterior margin of the eye, also a longer and more slender promesonotum (Bolton 2007). Considered native to the Malagasy region, the species is suggested to have started spreading across Southeast Asia and Oceania more than 60 years ago (Wetterer 2013). This species is estimated to have been first collected from Singapore around or earlier than 1948 (Wetterer 2013).