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The reddish-coloured ant with the large jaws is a Giant Bull Ant Myrmecia brevinoda.
The yellow and black ant attacking it may be a type of sugar ant - Camponotus species.
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Giant Bull Ant, Giant Bulldog Ant
Conservation status: Least Concern
Girraween has two species of Giant Bull Ant. Myrmecia brevinoda is the larger of the two, with some of its workers growing up to 36 mm in length.
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Scientific Classification
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Order:
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Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Myrmecia
brevinoda
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| Its sister species, Myrmecia gulosa only gets to about 23 mm in length. Apart from size, the other way to differentiate the two species is the colour of the jaws and the abdomen. Myrmecia brevinoda has reddish jaws - the same colour as its head - and the abdomen is all black. Myrmecia gulosa has yellowish-coloured jaws - which constrasts to its red-brown head - and a two-toned red-brown and black abdomen. Myrmecia brevinoda appears to be less common than Myrmecia gulosa in Girraween.
Giant Bull Ants usually forage on the ground or sometimes on vegetation close to the ground. They feed on nectar, plant juices and also prey on small arthropods.
Their nests have distinctively-large entrance mounds, decorated with small bits of twig and pebbles. The ants will fiercely defend their nest if disturbed. The large worker ants will rush out of the nest and head straight towards the intruder, jaws open and ready to bite. These ants also have a powerful sting which may cause an allergic reaction, so care needs to be taken if you should happen to find one.
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References:
- "Ants of Brisbane - A Queensland Museum Wild Guide"; by Chris Burwell; Queensland Museum; 2007; ISBN 9780977594320 (pbk); pp 18-19
- "Australian Ants: Their Biology and Identification" by Steven O. Shattuck; CSIRO Publishing; Collingwood; 1999; ISBN 0643066594; pp 119-121
- "Wildlife of Greater Brisbane – A Queensland Museum Wild Guide"; The Queensland Museum, South Brisbane; 2nd Ed; 2007; ISBN 9780977594313; pg 167
- Ant Wiki – Myrmecia brevinoda
- Atlas of Living Australia – Myrmecia brevinoda
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