Iridomyrmex purpureus

Meat Ant at Deakin, ACT

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Identification history

Iridomyrmex purpureus	25 Dec 2018	KimPullen
Iridomyrmex purpureus	24 Dec 2018	MichaelMulvaney
Unverified	23 Dec 2018	JackyF

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User's notes

Following on from my inconclusive sighting of 16 December, here is a close-up photo of same ants in same sapling. They are tending small orange lerp-like growths and the ones on the left are tending small black and white objects like tiny insects. The ants look like meat ants. Hairstreak butterflies and pupae were sighted on this sapling last summer.

2 comments

KimPullen wrote:

26 Dec 2018

The 'small black and white objects' appear to be psyllids and may be a species of Acizzia, many of which are known Acacia feeders.

JackyF wrote:

26 Dec 2018

Thank you. Sorry I could not get a better photo.

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Location information

Sighting information

101 - 1,000 Abundance
23 Dec 2018 08:01 PM Recorded on
JackyF Recorded by
Collections
JackyF Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Insects

Additional information

Small black wattle sapling (Acacia mearnsii) Associated plant
5mm to 12mm Animal size

Species information

Iridomyrmex purpureus Scientific name
Meat Ant Common name
Not Sensitive
Local native
Non-invasive or negligible
Up to 963.87m Recorded at altitude
698 images trained Machine learning
External link More information

Record quality

Images or audio
More than one media file
Verified by an expert moderator
Nearby sighting(s) of same species
GPS evidence of location
Description
Additional attributes

Australian Capital Territory

New South Wales

Queensland

Northern Territory

Western Australia

South Australia

Victoria

Tasmania