Myrmecia desertorum
Myrmecia desertorum
Classification Subfamily: Myrmeciinae
Family: Formicidae
Order: Hymenoptera
Common name: Bulldog ant or Inch ant
Known commonly as the Bulldog ants, these are the most ferocious of them. They are blessed with saw-like elongated
mandibles and a sharp sting that originates from the poison gland in the gaster. They never shy away from intrusion and even pursue human intruders who get close to the nest for a few meters. They are nocturnal and blend easily into a background of dry leaflitter. They do not lay pheromone trails for foraging and are solitary foragers. They establish permanent nests which resemble huge crater like depressions, with several nest openings. A unintentional poke into any of these openings results in an unprecedented surge of workers running out with mandibles wide open. They have extraordinarily mammoth eyes and would very likely be using visual cues for navigation. They primarily feed on insects. It was in these ants the presence of an antibiotic in the metapleural gland was discovered.
mandibles and a sharp sting that originates from the poison gland in the gaster. They never shy away from intrusion and even pursue human intruders who get close to the nest for a few meters. They are nocturnal and blend easily into a background of dry leaflitter. They do not lay pheromone trails for foraging and are solitary foragers. They establish permanent nests which resemble huge crater like depressions, with several nest openings. A unintentional poke into any of these openings results in an unprecedented surge of workers running out with mandibles wide open. They have extraordinarily mammoth eyes and would very likely be using visual cues for navigation. They primarily feed on insects. It was in these ants the presence of an antibiotic in the metapleural gland was discovered.Collected:
CSIRO, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia (November - March, 2004, 2005, 2006)
posted by Ajay Narendra @ 6:37 PM
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