Myrmecia desertorum

Myrmecia desertorum
Myrmecia desertorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmeciinae
Genus: Myrmecia
Species: M. desertorum
Binomial name
Myrmecia desertorum
Wheeler, 1915

Myrmecia desertorum are one of the most ferocious of the Australian bulldog ants. They have saw-like, elongated mandibles and a sharp sting that originates from the poison gland in the gaster. They never shy away from intrusion and even pursue human intruders who get close to the nest for a few meters. They are nocturnal and blend easily into a background of dry leaf-litter. They do not lay pheromone trails for foraging and are solitary foragers. They establish permanent nests which resemble huge crater-like depressions, with several nest openings. A unintentional poke into any of these openings results in a surge of workers running out with mandibles wide open. They have extraordinarily large eyes. They primarily feed on insects. It was in these ants that an antibiotic in the metapleural gland was discovered.


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