Formicidae (family) at Holder, ACT

Formicidae (family)

Unidentified ant at Holder, ACT

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Identification history

	Formicidae (family)	13 Feb 2022	JonLewis
	Unidentified	13 Feb 2022	Miranda

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User's notes

Ants have moved into this bee hotel. I poked through one of them with a stick to see what was inside, and there are eggs in the tunnels which the ants are tending. They have blocked the holes up with a fluffy-looking white substance with a hole just small enough for the ants to come and go. Seems to be one ant colony which has taken over all the holes in the bee hotel, even though they are not joined internally. There were no bees in here when the ants moved in so it's not a case of them raiding bee broods, they have just taken over the empty holes.

2 comments

JonLewis wrote:

13 Feb 2022

Hi Amanda, interesting sighting but I can't see the ants well enough to identify them, sorry. They could be a small Iridomyrmex, Monomorium or Tapinoma, among other possibilities. Cheers, Jon

Miranda wrote:

13 Feb 2022

Thanks Jon. I might see if I can catch one and get a better photo at some point. I've got a little microscope camera which might do the job. Cheers, Miranda

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