Myrmecia nigriceps

Myrmecia nigriceps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species:	M. nigriceps
Binomial name
Myrmecia nigriceps Mayr, 1862 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Myrmecia fasciata Clark, 1951

These ants are visual predators. Typical encounters with even a solitary forager shows that they are a formidable and aggressive species.

Identification

Myrmecia desertorum, Myrmecia fuscipes, Myrmecia gratiosa, Myrmecia nigriceps and Myrmecia vindex are all large to very large, reddish ants with red, brown or black heads and a black gaster.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Myrmecia Species
• Key to Myrmecia of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -25.35° to -37.68333333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

• This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Austeucharis sp. (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• nigriceps. Myrmecia nigriceps Mayr, 1862: 725 (in key), 728 (w.) AUSTRALIA (no state data).
  • Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
  • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
  • Type-locality: Australia (“New Holland”): (no further data).
  • Type-depository: NHMW.
  • Forel, 1910b: 3 (q.); Viehmeyer, 1914b: 28 (m.).
  • Subspecies of vindex: Forel, 1907h: 264; Forel, 1910b: 3; Emery, 1911d: 19; Forel, 1913g: 173; Viehmeyer, 1914b: 28; Clark, 1925b: 144.
  • Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 23; Mayr, 1863: 430; Mayr, 1876: 95; Dalla Torre, 1893: 21; Kirby, W.F. 1896: 206; Wheeler, W.M. 1909a: 27; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 38; Clark, 1951: 64 (redescription); Taylor & Brown, 1985: 13; Taylor, 1987a: 44; Ogata, 1991a: 358; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1638 (in key), 1659; Bolton, 1995b: 272; Heterick, 2009: 121.
  • Senior synonym of fasciata: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1659; Bolton, 1995b: 272.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• fasciata. Myrmecia fasciata Clark, 1951: 63, fig. 40 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
  • Type-material: holotype worker, paratype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-localities: holotype + paratypes Australia: New South Wales, Pilliga (W.W. Froggatt), New South Wales, Barraba (W.W. Froggatt).
  • [Note: original description gives no indication which series contains the holotype, but Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9, cite Pilliga.]
  • Type-depository: ANIC.
  • Status as species: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata, 1991a: 358.
  • Junior synonym of nigriceps: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1659; Bolton, 1995b: 271.

Type Material

• Myrmecia nigriceps: Syntype, 1 worker, Australia (as New Holland), Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Myrmecia nigriceps: Syntype, 1 worker, Gayndah, Queensland, Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Myrmecia nigriceps: Syntype, 1 worker, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Myrmecia fasciata: Holotype, worker, Pilliga, New South Wales, Australia, Froggatt,W.W., ANIC32-013410, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Myrmecia fasciata: Paratype, 4 workers, Pilliga, New South Wales, Australia, Froggatt,W.W., ANIC32-015327, Australian National Insect Collection.

References

• Als, V., Narendra, A., Arthofer, W., Krapf, P., Steiner, F.M., Schlick-Steiner, B.C. 2021. Colony structure, population structure, and sharing of foraging trees in the ant Myrmecia nigriceps (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 68, 327–335 (doi:10.1007/s00040-021-00831-7).
• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Eriksson, E.S. 1985. Attack behaviour and distance perception in the Australian bulldog ant Myrmecia nigriceps. Journal of Experimental Biology 119, 115–131.
• Forel, A. 1907j. Formicidae. In: Michaelsen, W., Hartmeyer, R. (eds.) Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Band I, Lieferung 7. Jena: Gustav Fischer, pp. 263-310. (page 264, Variety of vindex)
• Forel, A. 1910b. Formicides australiens reçus de MM. Froggatt et Rowland Turner. Rev. Suisse Zool. 18: 1-94 (page 3, queen described)
• Greiner, B., Narendra, A., Reid, S.F., Dacke, M., Ribi, W.A., Zeil, J. 2007. Eye structure correlates with distinct foraging-bout timing in primitive ants. Current Biology 17(20): R879-880.
• Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of South-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 76:1-206.
• Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
• Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
• Mayr, G. 1862. Myrmecologische Studien. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 12: 649-776 (page 728, worker described)
• Narendra, A., Ramirez-Esquivel, F., Ribi, W.A. 2016. Compound eye and ocellar structure for walking and flying modes of locomotion in the Australian ant, Camponotus consobrinus. Scientific Reports 6, 22331 (doi:10.1038/srep22331).
• Narendra, A., Reid, S.F., Greiner, B., Peters, R.A., Hemmi, J.M., Ribi, W.A., Zeil, J. 2010. Caste-specific visual adaptations to distinct daily activity schedules in Australian Myrmecia ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278, 1141–1149 (doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.1378).
• Narendra,A., Reid,S.F., Greiner,B., Peters,R.A., Hemmi,J.M., Ribi,W.A., Jochen Zeil,J. 2011. Caste-specific visual adaptations to distinct daily activity schedules in Australian Myrmecia ants. Proc. R. Soc. B vol. 278 no. 1709, 1141-1149 (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1378).
• Ogata, K.; Taylor, R. W. 1991. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a preliminary review and key to the named species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). J. Nat. Hist. 2 25: 1623-1673 (page 1659, Senior synonym of fasciata)
• Viehmeyer, H. 1914b [1913]. Neue und unvollständig bekannte Ameisen der alten Welt. Arch. Naturgesch. (A)79(1 12: 24-60 (page 28, male described)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1933i. Colony founding among ants, with an account of some primitive Australian species. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, viii + 179 pp. (page 38, Revived status as species)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195
• Ogata K. and Taylor R.W. 1991. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a preliminary review and key to the named species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae), Journal of Natural History, 25: 1623-1673
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.