Sugar ant

Taxobox
name = Sugar ant
status = NE
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
familia = Formicidae
genus = "Camponotus"
species = "C. consobrinus"
binomial = "Camponotus consobrinus"
binomial_authority = (Erichson, 1842)
synonyms ="Formica consobrina"

The sugar ant ("Camponotus consobrinus") - also known as the "banded sugar ant" - is a relatively large ant, exclusive to Australia, identifiable by their orange-brown bodies, black head and mandibles. The sugar ants' name comes from their liking for sugar, but they are attracted to other savory food. They are commonly referred to as pests and produce painful bites.

Appearance

Sugar ants are one of the largest groups of ants in Australia and species vary in shape, size and color. Worker ants vary from 5 mm to 15 mm, depending on location and species. Their bodies are of a brownish-orange color, and have relatively large black heads, with protruding mandibles. Depending on caste, Sugar ants vary in sizes. A soldier ant is easily noticed by its fairly large body and mandibles compared to workers.

Distribution and Habitat

The sugar ant is located throughout all of Australia; commonly found in urban areas, forests, woodlands and heaths. Nests are commonly found in a variety of different sites ranging from holes in wood to the roots of plants, in twigs of trees and shrubs, between rocks or in the soil. In soil, sugar ant nests are easily recognised by the large dirt grain hill constructed surrounding the ant hole.

Diet

Contrary to their name, the sugar ant does not primarily feed on sugary foods. Sugar ants are in fact omnivores, collecting nectar and other liquid secretions from plants, honeydew from aphids and other plant-eating invertebrates such as caterpillars. Sugar ants also feed on other insects or any other animal they can forage. Most of their meat comes from scavenging dead animals.

Behaviour

Hunting

Sugar ants are mostly nocturnal, and workers can often be seen heading out at dusk in marked trails to storage food. They can also be seen during the day, but are more active during the night. They are more active during the warmer seasons, especially during summer (December-January). During winter, they are of a low profile.

Aphid farming

Sugar ants collect secretions made by plant-eating insects. Of these, aphids are the most prominent. Sugar ants tend aphids much like farmers tend their stock, moving them around and protecting them from predators. This type of behaviour is mutually beneficial to both parties, as the ants protect the aphid from predation and the aphid provides a sap-like liquid to the ants.

Defence

When provoked, sugar ants will lift up their abdomen and use their large mandibles to fend off an attacker. If further provoked, the sugar ant (depending on species) can defend itself by spraying acid from their abdomens to deter predators. If the nest, however, is attacked; hundreds of ants will attack in force. Unlike some other ants, Sugar Ants do not contain stings.

Breeding

During late spring to early autumn, the queen sugar ant will produce eggs that hatch into 'new queens' and males (alates). These alates (winged royal ants) are completely black (with some variations between species), compared to the orange-coloured workers. During late autumn, hundreds to thousands of alates will mate in the air; with hundreds of workers keeping guard on the ground.

References

* [http://www.ento.csiro.au/Ecowatch/Primary/hymenoptera/pages/sugar_ant.htm Entomology CSIRO]
* [http://www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=250 Wildlife of Sydney Factfile]

External links

* [http://formicinae.blogspot.com/2006/12/camponotus-consobrinus.html Pictures of "C. consobrinus"]