Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae - Tree Ants
- The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae is a small group. This group contains only three genera. They are generally slender, wasp-like forms that forage solitarily and sting readily. The mesosoma is attached to the gaster by two distinct segments, the petiole and postpetiole . They are usually black in colour with elongated large eyes and short antenna.
- They are close to and have the similar body with those bull ants except they have short triangular jaws instead of long jaws.
- Tree Ants nest in hollow twigs of trees. They usually found on plants although they occasionally forage on ground near tree trunks.
This page contains pictures and information about Tree Ants that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
Black Tree Ant - Tetraponera punctulata
- Body length 15mm
- This is the largest ant species that we found outside the Bulldog Ants subfamily. They are black in colour, have elongate, slender bodies and large, oval eyes. They usually found on leaves or tree trunks alone.
- Pictures were taken in Karawatha Forest on Nov 2007.
- This ant is fairly common in Brisbane forests.
- Reference:
- 1. Ants - subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae - lifeunseen.com, by Nick Monaghan, 2007.
- 2. Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae - Australian Ants Online, CSIRO Entomology, 2001.
- 3. Tetraponera spp. - Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO, 2005.
- 4. Tetraponera punctulata Smith, 1877 - Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology, 2007.
- 5. Australian Ants: Their Biology and Identification - S Shattuck, Natalie J Barnett, CSIRO, 1999, p208.
