Papyrius nitidus

2 Shining Coconut Ant at Red Hill, ACT

Papyrius nitidus at Red Hill, ACT - 8 Jun 2019
Papyrius nitidus at Red Hill, ACT - 8 Jun 2019
Papyrius nitidus at Red Hill, ACT - 8 Jun 2019
Papyrius nitidus at Red Hill, ACT - 8 Jun 2019
Papyrius nitidus at Red Hill, ACT - 8 Jun 2019
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Identification history

Papyrius nitidus 10 Jun 2019 JonLewis
Papyrius nitidus 10 Jun 2019 BIrdsinCanberra
Papyrius nitidus 4 Jun 2019 BIrdsinCanberra

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User's notes

I believe this is a nest of Coconut Ants. It was in a burnt out log that was lying on its side on the southern side of Red Hill.

7 comments

JonLewis wrote:
   5 Jun 2019
Hi BirdsinCanberra, did you smell the ants? Was the nest in a fairly open site the sun could get into, or a more closed, forest site which would have been quite shady? Cheers, Jon
   6 Jun 2019
Hi Jon, Sorry, I could not see any ants on the surface and I did not want to dig into the material to disturb them. The tree cover was patchy, so reasonably open. I hope that helps. Cheers
Mike wrote:
   6 Jun 2019
If you knock on the wood you should get a few ants to appear. That avoids disturbing the material of the nest.
   7 Jun 2019
Hi Mike, Many thanks for the tip. I will head back out on Saturday morning to see if I can confirm the ants. Cheers
   11 Jun 2019
Hi Jon, I went out again. I knocked on the log, unfortunately I dislodged a bit of bark, but it meant I did get a definite coconut smell. I was able to photograph the ants, and I remembered to include a ruler in the photographs to help with sizing. The final photograph shows the nest in the overall setting.
JonLewis wrote:
   11 Jun 2019
Hi Birds in Canberra, thanks very much for going out again, and getting the extra photos. No doubt about it now! Particularly appreciate the context photo, as it's good to see what sort of site the nest is in. Cheers, Jon
   11 Jun 2019
Hi Jon, My pleasure, always happy to head out photographing. All the best.

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 16 - 100 Abundance
  • 8 Jun 2019 08:12 AM Recorded on
  • BIrdsinCanberra Recorded by

Additional information

  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size

Species information

Record quality

  • Overall Fit for scientific/research use
  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Confirmed by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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