Brachyponera lutea

Easily the most abundant species in the group, and occurs throughout Australia. Typically this species can be found cohabiting with termites under stones or rotting logs, and the latter are a prey item. As well as being widespread in native woodlands, B. lutea is common in suburban areas, where anecdotal reports suggest it not infrequently stings people tending their gardens. (Heterick 2009)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Castes
Size difference between queens and workers is the highest among all Ponerinae. This is associated with the ability of newly mated queens to start new colonies without foraging outside the nest ('claustral') (Haskins & Haskins 1950).

Nomenclature

 * . Ponera lutea Mayr, 1862: 721 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
 * Mayr, 1865: 67 (m.); Crawley, 1918: 86 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971b: 1207 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 347 (k.).
 * Combination in Euponera (Brachyponera): Emery, 1901a: 47;
 * combination in Pachycondyla: Brown, in Bolton, 1995b: 307;
 * combination in Brachyponera: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971b: 1207; Schmidt, C.A. & Shattuck, 2014: 80.
 * Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 16; Mayr, 1863: 449; Mayr, 1865: 66 (redescription); Mayr, 1876: 88; Mayr, 1879: 662 (in key); Emery, 1887b: 433; Dalla Torre, 1893: 40; Forel, 1907h: 271; Emery, 1911d: 84; Emery, 1914b: 180; Forel, 1915b: 22; Crawley, 1915b: 232; Crawley, 1918: 86; Poulton & Crawley, 1922: 120; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 93 (redescription); Wheeler, W.M. 1934d: 140; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 23; Taylor, 1987a: 9; Bolton, 1995b: 307; Heterick, 2009: 135.
 * Senior synonym of clara: Bolton, 1995b: 307.
 * Senior synonym of socialis: Emery, 1911d: 84; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 23; Taylor, 1987a: 9; Bolton, 1995b: 307.
 * clara. Euponera (Brachyponera) lutea var. clara Crawley, 1915a: 133 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Northern Territory).
 * Combination in Brachyponera: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 23.
 * Subspecies of lutea: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 23; Taylor, 1987a: 10.
 * Junior synonym of lutea: Bolton, 1995b: 304.
 * socialis. Ectatomma socialis MacLeay, 1873: 369 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 26.
 * Junior synonym of lutea: Emery, 1911d: 84; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 23; Taylor, 1987a: 9; Bolton, 1995b: 309.
 * solitaria. Ponera solitaria Smith, F. 1874: 404 (w.) JAPAN.
 * [Junior primary homonym of Ponera solitaria Smith, 1860b: 103.]
 * Forel, 1900e: 267 (q.).
 * Combination in Euponera (Brachyponera): Emery, 1901a: 47;
 * combination in Euponera (Trachymesopus): Santschi, 1937h: 363.
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 42; Forel, 1900e: 267, 284; Wheeler, W.M. 1906c: 306; Emery, 1909c: 366; Yano, 1910: 418; Emery, 1911d: 84; Forel, 1912l: 339; Santschi, 1925f: 82; Wheeler, W.M. 1928c: 6; Wheeler, W.M. 1928d: 98; Wheeler, W.M. 1929f: 2; Wheeler, W.M. 1930h: 60; Santschi, 1937h: 363; Teranishi, 1940: 7; Azuma, 1950: 24; Creighton, 1950a: 45; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 786; Azuma, 1951: 86; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 64; Azuma, 1953: 1; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 111; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1341; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 61 (error).
 * Senior synonym of chinensis: Brown, 1958h: 22; Onoyama, 1980: 196; Bolton, 1995b: 309.
 * Replacement name: Ponera nigrita subsp. chinensis Emery, 1895k: 460.
 * [Note: chinensis junior synonym of solitaria Smith, F. 1874 (synonymy by Brown, 1958h: 22); hence chinensis first available replacement name.]

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Andersen A. N., B. D. Hoffman, and J. Somes. 2003. Ants as indicators of minesite restoration: community recovery at one of eight rehabilitation sites in central Queensland. Ecological Management and Restoration 4: 12-19.
 * Andersen A. N., J. Lanoue, and I. Radford. 2010. The ant fauna of the remote Mitchell Falls area of tropical north-western Australia: Biogeography, environmental relationships and conservation significance. Journal of Insect Conservation 14: 647-661.
 * Emery C. 1914. Formiche d'Australia e di Samoa raccolte dal Prof. Silvestri nel 1913. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 179-186.
 * Forel A. 1893. Nouvelles fourmis d'Australie et des Canaries. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 37: 454-466.
 * Heterick B. E., B. Durrant, and N. R. Gunawardene. 2010. The ant fauna of the Pilbara Bioregion, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 78: 157-167.
 * Heterick B. E., M. Lythe, and C; Smithyman. 2012. Urbanisation factors impacting on ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) biodiversity in the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia: Two case studies. Urban Ecosyst. DOI 10.1007/s11252-012-0257-23
 * Read J. L., and A. N. Andersen. 2000. The value of ants as early warning bioindicators: responses to pulsed cattle grazing at an Australian arid zone locality. Journal of Arid Environments 45: 231-251.
 * Schnell M. R., A. J. Pik, and J. M. Dangerfield. 2003. Ant community succession within eucalypt plantations on used pasture and implications for taxonomic sufficiency in biomonitoring. Austral Ecology 28: 553565.
 * 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.