Turneria

All known species of Turneria live in trees above the ground and nest in dead twigs and are found primarily in rainforests although they are occasionally encountered in tropical dry sclerophyll woodlands as well. They form small colonies which contain less than 500 workers. Once away from the nest foragers travel singly, searching on vegetation for suitable prey. They are not commonly collected although this is likely due to their small colony size and tree-nesting habits.

Identification
The compound eyes are elongate (rather than round or nearly round as in other dolichoderines). The propodeum has rounded protuberances at the angle between the upper and rear surfaces which bear the propodeal spiracles. These characters are unique to this genus and will separate it from all others in the subfamily Dolichoderinae.

Castes


Worker of T. bidentata from Queensland.