Jumper Ant
Myrmecia nigrocincta
-29.5859, 152.776
Field Notes
Description:
About 2cm long, black & orange, large long mandibles, large dark eyes, elongated thin body with a sting in the tail. Feeds on a variety of insects, plant material, caterpillars, often foraging in tress or shrubs, on the ground where it exists in an underground burrow with its community. Known as jumper ants because they have the ability to jump, they can leap from whatever they are on and either attack an intruder or disappear in the leaf litter, they also jump rapidly along the ground to avoid being trampled, often they stand their ground with mandibles & two front legs raised ready to grab hold & strike a sting with the abdomen.
Habitat:
Found in many habitats throughout eastern Australian, many other species of bull ants & jumper ants exist all around Australia. this one in dry Eucalypt woodland in north east NSW.
Notes:
Alright I'll take your photo but only if you promise not to sting me! Seems to happen whenever I stop to take a photo of something else, a bull ant of some description appears in front of me in an aggressive pose. The sting is incredibly painful. I've been stung many times by this species & at least 2 of the other bull ant species & it's a very unpleasant experience. When bushwalking in a group I hate being second but third or further back is even worse - the first in line gets the spider web treatment but alerts the bull ants on the track, second in line gets the aggressive bull ants ready to strike, third usually feels the worst a bull ant can give!
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