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- This page contains pictures and information about Meat Ants, Tyrant Ants
and Spider Ants that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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- Most ants species in the Dolichoderinae subfamily are general predators or
scavengers. Some of them tend soft-bugs, such as
aphids, to collect honeydew and some are associated with butterfly caterpillars.
Theirs nests are usually found in the
soil, rotten or living wood, in termite mounds and in cracks between rocks.
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Tyrant
Ant
Spider Ant
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- For the Dolichoderinae ants the petiole is a single segment. The gaster is smooth and
does not have constrictions between the segments. The tip of the gaster is
absent of sting, and is slit-like, without a circular
opening.
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- Ants of Dolichoderinae are sometimes confused with species of Formicinae because both have a single segmented petiole, lack a sting and are often similar in overall body size and shape.
Dolichoderines can be distinguished from formicines as the tip of the gaster has a slit-like opening while formicines have a small circular opening.
- Large Purple Meat Ant, Mount Ant,
Southern Meat Ant
   - Iridomyrmex purpureus, body length 8-10mm
- They are quite the large in size, with long legs and a large head. Their
abdomen is
black in colour with a dark red head. Their nests are built on ground in soil, as a
sand dome on the surface, usually near foot path. They
are common in the Brisbane bushes. Please click here
for more pictures and information.
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- Red-headed Tyrant Ant
 - Iridomyrmex reburrus, body length 8mm
- Those ants have very long legs. They nested under small rock. Many of those
nest can be found in Karawatha forest. Pictures were taken on Sept 2007. They
have the red body with reddish brown head. Please click here
for more pictures and information.
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- Black Tyrant Ant
 - Iridomyrmex rufoniger or I. anceps, body length 6mm
- This Black Tyrant Ant often be seen attending to various scale-insects
and leafhoppers.
Those ants get around them for their excretion of 'honey-dew', which contain
the excess sugar. The ants are black in colour with a whitish coating. Click here for more
information.
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- Brown Tyrant Ant
  - Iridomyrmex sp, body length 5mm
- The Brown Tyrant Ants are shiny brown in colour.
They are quite common in Brisbane bushes. For more information please check
this page.
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- Brown Tyrant Ant II
 - Iridomyrmex sp, body length 6mm
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- Red Spider Ant
 - Leptomyrmex rufipes, body length 12mm
- Pictures were taken in rainforest near Mt Nebo. The ant was alone and
working very hard moving a roll of leaf material. The have long legs and
resemble spiders. When disturbed, they will cock up their gaster in
the air. More pictures and information please find in this page.
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- Black Spider Ant
 - Leptomyrmex sp., body length 12mm
- We found this Black Spider Ants in semi-rainforest area near Mt Coot-tha
March 2008. The ant was
wandering on forest floor alone. When we were talking its photos, it
came to check our camera bag on the ground. More pictures and information
can be found in this page.
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- Large Dolly Ant
 - Dolichoderus sp. (D. australis group), body length 8mm
- Dolly Ants often found tending honeydew-secreting insects. Workers
forage in columns on the ground or on low vegetation and trees. Please check this page
for more information.
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- Small Dolly Ant
 - Dolichoderus sp. (D. australis group), body length 5mm
- Small Dolly Ants are black in colour with pale bands on gaster. Head and
mesosoma are heavily sculptured. Please click here
for more information about this ant.
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Spiny Dolly Ant
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- Dolichoderus sp. (D. scabridus group), body length 5mm
- This Spiny Dolly Ant is black in colour, dark metallic green under
sunlight. There are the spines on both propodeum and petiole. Please check
this page for more information.
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- Black House Ant
 
 - Ochetellus glaber, body length 10mm, 6mm
- In a late spring afternoon, we found many winged female and male black ants
used our rubbish bin top as meeting place.
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- ?sp., body length 5mm
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- Reference:
- 1. Dolichoderus spp.
- Australian Insect Common Names, CSIRO, 2005.
- 2. Dolichoderus
- myrmecos.net,
2005.
- 3. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus &
Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, p289.
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4. Australian Ants: Their Biology and Identification - S Shattuck, Natalie J Barnett, CSIRO,
1999, p64.
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[ Up ] [ Myrmeciinae ] [ Pseudomyrmecinae ] [ Myrmicinae ] [ Ponerinae ] [ Formicinae ] [ Dolichoderinae ] [ Not Known Ants ]
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