A Bull ant at Bruce, ACT
Identification history
| Myrmecia pyriformis | 26 Sep 2021 | JonLewis | ||
| Myrmecia sp., pilosula-group | 23 Sep 2021 | AlisonMilton |
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User's notes
Inadvertently walked across their nest and disturbed them. Unlike most other ants, these will actively come towards you seeking you out.
3 comments
JonLewis
wrote:
24 Sep 2021
Hi Alison, nice photos. Not sure about the ID, though. Have you considered Myrmecia pyriformis? Cheers, Jon
AlisonMilton
wrote:
24 Sep 2021
Hi Jon, Yes I did consider this but thought the abdomen didn't have the stripes I could see in other photos of this species. Happy to be corrected.
JonLewis
wrote:
26 Sep 2021
Hi Alison, I see what you mean, but there are other characters to look for. Some key features for field identification of Myrmecia (that is to say, without having a microscope) are the overall colour of the head, body and abdomen, the shape and colour of the mandibles and the colour of legs. Members of the Myrmecia pilosula group generally have yellowish mandibles which are relatively short, straight and slim, and the ends to the legs (tarses) are also yellowish. In comparison, the mandibles of Myrmecia pyriformis are dark coloured, vary substantially in width along their length and are much more heavily built, and the legs are more-or-less the same colour all the way along. If it's any comfort, I have to remind myself of these characters almost every time I try to ID Myrmecia on CNM! Cheers, Jon
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Nearby sightings
1 2
Location information
- Coordinates 149.089442-35.248137
- Altitude 646.0m
- Maps Gossan Hill Bruce Ridge to Gossan Hill
- Places Bruce, ACT
Sighting information
- 16 - 100 Abundance
- 23 Sep 2021 11:35 AM Recorded on
- AlisonMilton Recorded by
Additional information
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
Species information
- Myrmecia pyriformis Scientific name
- A Bull ant Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-Invasive
- Up to 1387.5m Recorded at altitude
- Machine learning
- External link More information
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Confirmed by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
