Iridomyrmex purpureus

Meat Ant at Symonston, ACT

Iridomyrmex purpureus at Symonston, ACT - 1 Apr 2018
Iridomyrmex purpureus at Symonston, ACT - 1 Apr 2018
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Identification history

Iridomyrmex purpureus 13 Jul 2020 JonLewis
Iridomyrmex purpureus 13 Jul 2020 YumiCallaway

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User's notes

Interesting to watch their interaction.

2 comments

JonLewis wrote:
   13 Jul 2020
Hi Yumi, by the stance of the ants it looks like you were observing workers from two different colonies who were arguing with each other about where the boundary between the two nest territories is exactly. The ants confront each other in a display of strength which can go on for hours or even days, but only rarely start actual fighting. The display is known as ritualized fighting and it is well documented in this species of ant. This link (https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Ritualised_fighting_in_Iridomyrmex_purpureus) will tell you all about it. It's pretty amazing! Cheers, Jon
YumiCallaway wrote:
   13 Jul 2020
Wow, that's cool! While I was observing them, I thought it almost looked like they were dancing - seems like they do have their own fighting routine after all :D Thanks for the info!

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Location information

Sighting information

Additional information

  • 5mm to 12mm Animal size

Species information

  • Iridomyrmex purpureus Scientific name
  • Meat Ant Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Local native
  • Non-invasive or negligible
  • Up to 963.87m Recorded at altitude
  • 589 images trained 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
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