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Subfamily Dolichoderinae
- This page contains pictures and information about Black Tyrant Ants that
we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.
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 - Body length 6mm
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- The Black Tyrant Ants are black in colour with a whitish coating on body.
They are common in Brisbane bushes.
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- 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.
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- They are sometimes seen in-group attacking other larger ants and
insects
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- In ant's world, out number rules.
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- Nest entrance.
Attending Butterfly Caterpillars
 
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- The Imperial
Blue butterfly caterpillars and pupa always found attending by swarms of
black ants. Those ants are either Iridomyrmex anceps or Iridomyrmex
rufoniger. Some reference books suggested that the ants come
for the honey dew produced by the special secretary organs on the
caterpillar body.
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However, we noticed that the ants also attended the pupa, which were not
likely to produce any honey dew. The Caterpillars always attended by the Iridomyrmex
ants but not other species. We suspected that the caterpillar and
pupa may exploit and take the advantage the chemical signals of those ants.
The caterpillar and pupa may secrete the chemical so that the ants think
they are their 'Queen' or 'sisters'. This is just a speculation that need
more observations to confirm.
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- Reference:
- 1. What
wasp is that? - An interactive identification guide to the
Australasian families of Hymenoptera, 2007
- 2. Northern
Territory Insects, A Comprehensive Guide CD - Graham Brown, 2009.
[ Up ] [ Large Purple Meat Ant ] [ Red-headed Tyrant Ant ] [ Black Tyrant Ant ] [ Brown Tyrant Ant ] [ Red Spider Ant ] [ Black Spider Ant ] [ Large Dolly Ant ] [ Small Dolly Ant ] [ Spiny Dolly Ant ] [ ? Ant ]
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