Papyrius nitidus (Shining Coconut Ant)
The Shining Coconut Ant is essential to the survival of the nationally rare Small Ant-blue Butterfly, with the butterfly spending its larvae and pupae stages within the ant's nest. The Small Ant-blue is only known from a few locations both in the ACT and nationally, while the Shining Coconut Ant seems quite widespread in the Canberra area. The nests of the Shining Coconut Ant are very distinctive and it is hopped that by mapping the distribution of the ant we may find more breeding colonies of the butterfly. A similar species, the Hairy Coconut Ant also occurs in the ACT and region.
The Coconut Ant build nests in the ground and in dead wood on or near the surface. The nests are readily identified because the ant build a cover of vegetatable and soil matter, with a carboard like consistency, over nests, forage ways, at the base of eucalypt salpings and along tree stems. The material is most obvious on top of cut stumps and in the cracks of fallen timber (see photos).
The clinching test as to whether it is a Coconut Ant nest is to squash one of the few mm long ants and a very strong coconut oil smell should be immediately obvious.
The Coconut Ant feeds on the excretions of leafhoppers and scale incsects, that are feeding on eucalypts and wattles so nests tend to be in areas with much sapling growth. Work in Victoria also suggests that nests are most likely to be found on flatter well drained areas where projected foliage cover is less than 25% and fallen timber and dead wood is present.
Happy ant hunting. Please report any nest to Canberra Nature MAp
Papyrius nitidus is listed in the following regions:
Canberra & Southern Tablelands
Species information
- Papyrius nitidus Scientific name
- Shining Coconut Ant Common name
- Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- 915 images trained Machine learning
- External link More information
Location information
-
Maps
ANBG Aranda Bushland Black Mountain Bluetts Block (402, 403, 12, 11) Callum Brae Cooleman Ridge Cotter Reserve Dunlop Grasslands Farrer Ridge Federal Golf Course Ginninderry Conservation Corridor Goorooyarroo NR (ACT) Griffith Woodland Hall Horse Paddocks Hughes Grassy Woodland Illilanga & Baroona Isaacs Ridge Isaacs Ridge and Nearby Isaacs Ridge Offset Area Jerrabomberra Grassland Kama Lake Ginninderra Lions Youth Haven - Westwood Farm A.C.T. Melrose Molonglo Gorge Molonglo River Reserve Mount Ainslie Mount Jerrabomberra Mount Jerrabomberra QP Mount Majura Mount Mugga Mugga Mount Painter Mount Taylor Mulanggari Grasslands Namadgi National Park Pine Island to Point Hut Piney Ridge Point Hut to Tharwa Red Hill Nature Reserve Red Hill to Yarralumla Creek Rugosa Stony Creek The Fair, Watson The Pinnacle Tuggeranong Hill Umbagong District Park Uriarra Recreation Reserve Uriarra TSR Wanniassa Hill Watson Woodlands Woodstock Nature Reserve -
Survey points
GG102 GG38 Point 4372 Point 4598 -
Places
Symonston, ACT
