Papyrius sp. (genus)
2 A Coconut Ant at Hackett, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Papyrius sp. (genus) | JonLewis | 1 Oct 2025 | |
| Linepithema humile | Lisa.Jok | 1 Oct 2025 |
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User's notes
I believe these are Argentine Ants (Linepithema humile), this does not appear to be a species listed on NatureMapr. Initially I feared these were Red Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta), but Red Fire Ants have 10 segments (not 12) in their antennae, two thoracic-abdominal nodes (not one), and do not emit a strong smell when crushed (ants observed had a strong sour smell). These ants appear to be nesting within a log on the ground, and are not obvious until many pour out when log is disturbed.
2 comments
1 Oct 2025
Hi Lisa, thanks for the suggestion and the great annotated photos. Linepithema, Iridomyrmex and Papyrius are all in the same subfamily (Dolicoderinae) so have the same general features. Linepithima are much smaller, non-descript ants which look like a very small brown Iridomyrmex. We get them in Canberra occasionally, but the climate seems to be too cold for them to stay around for long. Cheers, Jon
Location information
- Maps Mount Ainslie
- Places Hackett, ACT
Sighting information
- 101 - 1,000 Abundance
- Lisa.Jok Recorded by
- Less than 5mm Animal size
Collections
- Lisa.Jok NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands 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
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location