Camponotus suffusus
Golden-tailed sugar ant at Jerrabomberra, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Camponotus suffusus | AlisonMilton | 10 Oct 2021 | |
| Unverified | SteveBorkowskis | 10 Oct 2021 |
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User's notes
Approx 12-15mm, Golden banded abdomen, legs have maroon/red appearance.
2 comments
10 Oct 2021
Hi Alison & Steve, here's where we learn another lesson in ants - colour is, unfortunately, not a strong character trait for making an identification. Alison, you are quite right about this ID (and thanks for doing the other ones, by the way), even though this ant has differently coloured legs and head from sighting 4398598. Colour is often a good trait to use as a field character (i.e making an ID without a microscope) but not so reliable for a sure ID. Many ants change colour as they age, being a pale colour when they are very young and becoming increasingly dark as they age and are exposed to sunlight. Ant species identification for scientific purposes typically relies on a large number of traits, mostly detailed morphology observed under a microscope. Colour can come into the description of the ant and be used in keys for identification, but it is often quite variable - as demonstrated in this species of ant! Note, however, that while Camponotus suffusus may have a red to nearly black head, Camponotus aeneopilosus always has a black head. Thanks again for the sightings Steve, and the IDs Alison. Cheers, Jon
10 Oct 2021
Hi Jon, thanks for all the information, I’m really enjoying learning about all these ant species. Makes sense what you say about colour, I was finding it difficult to confidently suggest an ID for some of these ants as they didn’t exactly match the field guide pictures, makes sense now. Cheers Steve
Location information
- Coordinates 149.207292-35.376694
- Altitude 695.8m
- Maps Mount Jerrabomberra Mount Jerrabomberra QP
- Places Jerrabomberra, NSW
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- 10 Oct 2021 09:32 AM Recorded on
- SteveBorkowskis Recorded by
Collections
- SteveBorkowskis Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Camponotus suffusus Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects
Species information
- Camponotus suffusus Scientific name
- Golden-tailed sugar ant Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 899.01m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Additional attributes