Iridomyrmex purpureus
Meat Ant at Symonston, ACT
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| Iridomyrmex purpureus | JonLewis | 13 Jul 2020 | |
| Iridomyrmex purpureus | YumiCallaway | 13 Jul 2020 |
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User's notes
Interesting to watch their interaction.
2 comments
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
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!
Location information
- Coordinates 149.146888-35.358823
- Altitude 610.5m
- Maps Callum Brae
- Places Symonston, ACT
Sighting information
- 16 - 100 Abundance
- 1 Apr 2018 09:45 AM Recorded on
- YumiCallaway Recorded by
- 5mm to 12mm Animal size
Collections
- YumiCallaway Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Iridomyrmex purpureus Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects
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
- External link More information
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Synonyms
Iridomyrmex purpurea
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species