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RED BULL ANT FACTS |
Identification
The Red Bull Ant is one of the largest species of ants in the world. They have a venomous sting that is capable of causing severe pain for a day or two.. Red Bull Ants have yellowish mandibles, reddish-brown head and thorax and front part of abdomen. The rear half of the gaster (the bulbous part at the rear of the abdomen) is black. The head is slightly broader than it is long and the mandibles are slightly longer than the head. The mandibles are long and fairly straight with twelve teeth (the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth teeth are longer and sharper than the others). The queen is similar to the workers but larger and more robust.
Other Names
Giant Bull Ant
Size
Length: worker 14mm - 26mm; queen 27mm - 29mm.
Food
The Red Bull Ant is carnivorous and feeds on invertebrates including other species of ants and prey larger than themselves such as bees.
Breeding
Red Bull Ants build an underground nest with extensive network of tunnels with nest entrance is concealed by dirt and plant debris. The entrance is often guarded by two or three ants.
Range
found in south east Queensland and eastern New South Wales
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Hymenoptera | | Family: | Formicidae | | Genus: | Myrmecia | | Species: | gulosa | | Common Name: | Red Bull Ant |
Relatives in same Genus
Bulldog Ant (M. brevinoda)
Tasmanian Inchman (M. esuriens)
Bulldog Ant (M. forficata)
Bulldog Ant (M. nigriceps)
Jack Jumper Ant (M. pilosula)
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