Papyrius sp. (genus)
A Coconut Ant at Macarthur, ACT
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| Papyrius sp. (genus) | JonLewis | 25 Jan 2022 | |
| Unverified | RAllen | 23 Jan 2022 |
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User's notes
Coconut ant carrying smaller larvae. However also carrying larger white larvae showing structure. Are these developing queen larvae (larger than workers ) or different larger species???
Similar observations at 2 other colonies in vicinity.
2 comments
23 Jan 2022
No doubt about adult ants being shining coconut ants. Was wondering about larger larvae.
25 Jan 2022
Hi RAllen, it's a good question about the identity and size of the metamorphosing larvae. I would put money on them being from the same ant colony, but they certainly look bigger than the workers. From my limited experience, when a worker ant larva metamorphoses into its adult form, the pale white morph which is nearly at the end of the metamorphosis (like those in your photos) is very close to the size of the final mature ant. I haven't ever seen any live queen ant larvae metamorphosing, but it seems pretty likely they would be similar. So, yes, it may be that your photos show metamorphosing queens being ferried from one place to another. It's a good observation. Cheers, Jon
Location information
- Places Macarthur, ACT
Sighting information
- 4 - 15 Abundance
- RAllen Recorded by
- Shining coconut ant adults Associated animal
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- RAllen Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Papyrius sp. (genus) Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects
Species information
- Papyrius sp. (genus) Scientific name
- A Coconut Ant Common name
- Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1006.19m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
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Synonyms
Papyrius sp.
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Description
- Additional attributes
- GPS evidence of location