Meranoplus sp. (genus)

Shield Ant at Dunlop, ACT

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Identification history

	Meranoplus sp. (genus)	6 Nov 2019	JonLewis
	Meranoplus sp. (genus)	6 Nov 2019	CathB

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User's notes

Very busy little ants that don't stop for photographs.

5 comments

JonLewis wrote:

7 Nov 2019

Good spotting Cath!

CathB wrote:

23 Nov 2019

Hi Jon, I’ve added two new pictures (images 4 and 5), taken at the same place on 20 Nov. I thought this was just a slightly larger ant – it looked the same and it moved the same way. However, in the photos it looks more like a mutillid wasp than an ant. Some form of mimicry perhaps?

JonLewis wrote:

23 Nov 2019

Could be - they certainly look similar.

KimPullen wrote:

4 Dec 2019

Yes Cath, 4 and 5 are a female mutillid wasp. It would be good to separate them as a different sighting, with a note as to their association with the Meranoplus.

CathB wrote:

6 Dec 2019

Thanks Jon and Kim. The wasp now appears separately in sighting 4244058.

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Location information

Coordinates 149.073365 -35.268540
Altitude 593.3m
Maps Mount Painter
Places Dunlop, ACT

Sighting information

At least 1 Abundance
6 Nov 2019 12:00 AM Recorded on
CathB Recorded by
Collections
Insects Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) CathB Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr

Additional information

Less than 5mm Animal size

Species information

Meranoplus sp. (genus) Scientific name
Shield Ant Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 690.3m Recorded at altitude
Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania