Toothless Bull Ant - Myrmecia fulviculis or M. mandibularis
Subfamily Myrmeciinae
This page contains pictures and information about Toothless Bull Ants that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
- Body length 15mm
- The ant has the black head and body, red legs and golden abdomen. Notice its jaws are relatively smooth comparing with other bull ants, i.e., its common name Toothless Bull Ant.
- We found them occasionally in Karawatha Forest from early summer September till late summer.
- Together with other ants with golden abdomen and black body, we believe this is a warning colour pattern to other predators.
- We sometime saw this ant searching and attacking small spiders under barks and between leaves.
- We found one nest of the Toothless Bull Ant. It was near the Bushtail Track in Karawatha Forest. There was only one entry, which is raised a few mm from the ground surrounded by small gravels. The nest entry was not very busy when we noticed it. There is one or two ants guarding and no other activity. They were very aggressive.
- When we came closer to have a look, five to six ants came out towards us until we retreat to over a meter away the entry. When we tapped the nest entry with a stick, steam of ants ran out and chased towards us.
- This species could be either the Myrmecia mandibularis or M. fulviculis, both species are "toothless". We checked that most likely it is the M. fulviculis.
- Please check this page for the general information about Bull Ants.
Their nest
- Reference:
- 1. Australian Ant Image Database - Australian Ant Image Database, R.W Taylor.
- 2. Myrmecia Fabricius, 1804 - CSIRO, 2010. Ants Down Under, viewed 15 March 2010, <http://anic.ento.csiro.au/ants>.
