Pheidole sp. (genus)
Seed-harvesting ant at Bruce, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Pheidole sp. (genus) | JonLewis | 6 Feb 2021 | |
| Unverified | Roger | 6 Feb 2021 |
Please Login or Register to identify this sighting.
User's notes
I have no idea what this ant is after looking at ALA and Mr Google, an ID would be really appreciated.
6 comments
6 Feb 2021
Hi Roger, these small ants are hard to photograph do you’ve done well. They often recruit lots of their nest mates when they find food and have small versions (minors) and much larger versions (majors or soldiers). Cheers, Jon
6 Feb 2021
Thanks Jon, we spent a lot of time trying to ID this guy nothing seemed to match, many thanks.
7 Feb 2021
Hi Roger, there are quite a few species in the region, varying a lot in colour, size and shininess. Cheers, Jon
7 Feb 2021
This comment from my ant entomologist friend in the US re the ID of this ant.
Genus Monomorium, perhaps M. eremophilum or M. disetigerum or a relative
Genus Monomorium, perhaps M. eremophilum or M. disetigerum or a relative
8 Feb 2021
Hi Bill, thanks to your friend for the suggestions. These small ants are hard to be sure about from a photo (though I should note that this is the best photo of an individual of this genus on CNM!). Monomorium often have smooth shiny heads and Pheidole often have dull, rough heads, but not always. There is a record of Pheidole on CNM of a very smooth and shiny example (Pheidole sp. (genus) (Seed-harvesting ant)) and we can be sure it is Pheidole by the presence of the small workers and large majors. In addition, Pheidole often have very prominent eyes, quite small in area but strongly raised from the surface of the head, as you can see in the photo, while Monomorium very rarely have eyes like this. Cheers, Jon
Location information
- Coordinates 149.094518-35.261452
- Altitude 657.7m
- Maps Black Mountain
- Places Bruce, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 4 Feb 2021 09:53 AM Recorded on
- Roger Recorded by
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- Roger Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Pheidole sp. (genus) Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects
Species information
- Pheidole sp. (genus) Scientific name
- Seed-harvesting ant Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1141.89m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- More than one media file