Platythyrea parallela (Smith, 1859)

Material examined. Bukit Batok, 1 Sep 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _ ENT00047913 ; Bukit Batok East, 28 Aug 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _ ENT00048025 ; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, 13 Dec 1967, D.H. Murphy leg., ZRC _ ENT00027924 ; queens, males and workers, Bukit Timah forest, Jalan Jambul, 4 Oct 1973, D.H. Murphy leg., A340-3, DHM-SG73- Plat 1, ZRC _ ENT00027923 ; Kranji Road, 29 Jan 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _ ENT00048026 ; Lower Peirce, 7 May 2017, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _ ENT00048419 ; Mandai forest, 15 Jan 2020, W. Wang leg., ZRC _ ENT00027938 ; Mandai Road, 1.41258, 103.79839, 16 Nov 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001552; male, Nee Soon Swamp Forest, 1°23’00.3”N, 103°48’46.5”E, 28 Mar-4 Apr 2012, J. Puniamoorthy et al. leg., malaise trap, NS1, Reg. 29157, ZRC _ BDP0012762 ; alate queen, Prince George’s Park Residences (NUS), 1.29239, 103.77869, 15-22 Apr 2015, M.S. Foo & W. Wang leg., malaise trap, NUS0013, ZRC _ BDP0045470 ; Pulau Ubin, 1.41662, 103.99443, 4 Dec 2016, G.W. Yong & M.K.L. Wong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001080-1082; Seletar Link, 1.40581, 103.88629, 23 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong et al. leg., ZRC _ ENT00047914 ; alate queen and workers, same locality as previous, 23-25 Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001546-1548; alate queens and worker, Upper Thomson Nature Park, 1.38311, 103.79839, Oct 2016, G.W. Yong leg., ZRC _HYM_0001549-1551 .

Material not physically examined. ANIC 32- 065989, RWT68.11 (ANIC); ANIC 32-065991- 65992, AreaK7, A64-6/A66-4 (ANIC); ANIC 32-065994, RWTAcc.68.35(ANIC); queens [types of Platythyrea coxalis], FOCOL0847-849 (ZMHB); FOCOL0850- 851[types of P. pusilla var. egena] (ZMHB). Non-types, Katong, Amber Road, 28 Jul 2014, J.K. Wetterer leg., vial #337 (JKWC).

Literature. Viehmeyer (1916), Overbeck (1924) [as Platythyrea coxalis and P. pusillia var. egena].

Localities. Amber Road (Katong); Bukit Batok; Bukit Batok East; Bukit Timah Nature Reserve; Bukit Timah Road; Kranji Road; Mandai; Mandai Road; Nee Soon Swamp Forest; Prince George’s Park Residences (NUS); Pulau Ubin; Seletar Link; Singapore Botanic Gardens; Upper Thomson Nature Park.

Habitat/Ecology. This species is associated mainly with both mature and young secondary forests, including native-dominated, abandoned plantation, and waste woodland forests, often fragments in urban or semi-urban settings. Sometimes the ants have been found on low vegetation and foliage in urban parklands. The species is considered arboreal and individuals are often found on tree trunks or branches, or foliage in general. Nests have been found under bark of living trees or large fallen logs.

Remarks. Platythyrea parallela is known to exhibit broad (body) size variation among both sympatric and allopatric populations. Other variable traits include shape and size of propodeal angles, shape of the petiolar node (specifically that of the posterodorsal margin), and body sculpture.At the point of writing, all size and morphological variants observed from local material have thus been treated as conspecific, pending future more refined analyses to distinguish between different species of this potential species complex.