Formicidae (family)
Unidentified ant at Holder, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Formicidae (family) | JonLewis | 13 Feb 2022 | |
| Unverified | Miranda | 13 Feb 2022 |
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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
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
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
Location information
- Coordinates 149.045873-35.327938
- Maps Holder Wetlands
- Places Holder, ACT
Sighting information
- 101 - 1,000 Abundance
- 13 Feb 2022 09:04 AM Recorded on
- Miranda Recorded by
- Less than 5mm Animal size
- Female Gender
- Eggs Breeding behaviour
Collections
- Miranda Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Formicidae (family) Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects
Species information
- Formicidae (family) Scientific name
- Unidentified ant Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1373m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
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Synonyms
Formicidae 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