CSIRO TERC - Australian Ant Common Names

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Common names of northern Australian ants

Most insects do not have common names, and this is a significant barrier to public interest in them, and to their study by non-specialists. This holds for even highly familiar insect groups such as ants. On this page, Alan Andersen proposes common names for all major native Australian ant genera and species-groups, as well as for many of the most abundant and distinctive species. Sixty-two genera, 142 species-groups and 50 species are given names. The naming system closely follows taxonomic structure; typically a genus is given a general common name, under which species-group and species names are nested.

Subfamily Aenictinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Aenictus	Lesser army ants	True army ants, but small, monomorphic and without the nomadic lifestyle of their famous cousins (Gotwald 1995)
A. atratus	Black lesser army ant	Colour black
A. ceylonicus group	Yellow lesser army ants	Colour yellowish

Subfamily Cerapachyinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Cerapachys	Cannibal ants	As with the related Sphinctomyrmex, specialist ant brood-raiders
C. brevis group	Little cannibal ants	Small species
C. clarki group	Speckled cannibal ants	Dorsum of petiolar node often punctate
C. edentatus group	Blind cannibal ants	Eyes absent
C. fervidus group	Two-lined cannibal ants	Dorsolateral margins of trunk with carinae running their entire length
C. longitarsus group	Topless cannibal ants	Trunk without distinct dorsal face
C. singularis group	Angle-headed cannibal ants	Head with lateral carinae
Sphinctomyrmex	Sausage cannibal ants	See Cerapachys; gaster elongate and serially constricted

Subfamily Dolichoderinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Anonychomyrma	Black cocktail ants	Strongly aromatic; uniformly black
A. biconvexa	Forest black cocktail ant	Occurs in wetter forests
A. gilberti	Golden black cocktail ant	Golden pubescence
Dolichoderus	Dolly ants	Derived from genus name
D. australis group	Soft dolly ants	Integument relatively thin and feebly sculptured
D. doriae group	Double-spined dolly ants	Pronotum and propodeum each with a pair of spines
D. reflexus group	Shark-finned dolly ants	Propodeum raised and reflexed backwards
D. scrobiculatus	Northern shark-finned dolly ant	Most northerly species of the group
D. scabridus group	Spiny dolly ants	Propodeum with a pair of spines
Froggattella	Froglet ants	Modified from genus name
F. kirbii	Common froglet ant	Most common and widely distributed of the two species
Iridomyrmex	Tyrant ants	Behaviourally dominant and highly aggressive
I. agilis group	Agile tyrant ants	Derived from species-group name
I. anceps group	Tropical tyrant ants	Tropical distribution
I. bicknelli group	Dome-headed tyrant ants	Posterior of head characteristically dome-shaped
I. calvus group	Calvus tyrant ants	Derived from species-group name
I. conifer group	Coned tyrant ants	Conical propodeum
I. cyaneus group	Blue tyrant ants	Integument with bluish iridescence
I. gracilis group	Gracile tyrant ants	Derived from species-group name
I. mattiroloi group	Little tyrant ants	Smallest of all Iridomyrmex
I. pallidus group	Pale tyrant ants	Colour yellowish
I. purpureus group	Meat ants	Established common name (Shattuck 1993)
I. greensladei	Greenslade's meat ant	Derived from species name
I. lividus	Blue meat ant	Integument with blue iridescence
I. purpureus	Southern meat ant	Most common species in southeastern Australia
I. reburrus	Bearded meat ant	Sides of head with short hairs
I. sanguineus	Northern meat ant	Most common species in northern Australia
I. viridiaeneus	Centralian meat ant	Most common species in central Australia
I. rufoinclinus group	Northern bearded tyrant ants	As with closely related viridigaster group, underside of head with numerous long, curved hairs; occurs in northern arid zone
I. rufoniger group	Tufted tyrant ants	Pronotum with tuft of hairs
I. suchieri group	Flat-backed tyrant ants	Flattened propdeum
I. vicina group	Southern tyrant ants	Occurring in cool-temperate Australia
I. viridigaster group	Southern bearded tyrant ants	See rufoinclinus group; occurs in southern arid zone
Leptomyrmex	Spider ants	Exceptionally long legs give them a spider-like appearance
L. erythrocephalus	Red-headed spider ant	Uniformly black except for contrasting red head
Ochetellus
O. flavipes	Spinifex ant	Established common name, due to association with species of Triodia (Morton & Christian 1994)
O. glaber group	Black house ants	Established common name
Papyrius	Red cocktail ants	Strongly aromatic; uniformly reddish brown
Tapinoma	Pedicel ants	As in Technomyrmex, propodeum without distinct node
T. minutum group	Dwarf pedicel ants	Tiny size
Technomyrmex	Tropical pedicel ants	See Tapinoma; occurring primarily in the tropics
Turneria	Turner ants	Derived from genus name

Subfamily Formicinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Acropyga	Root-aphid ants	Tend root aphids for honeydew
Calomyrmex	Beauty ants	English translation of genus name
C. purpureus	Speckled beauty ant	Trunk densely punctate
C. impavidus	Black beauty ant	Uniformly black
C. splendidus	Bauble beauty ant	Iridescent bauble-like gaster
Camponotus	Sugar ants	Established common name
C. anderseni	Mangrove plug ant	As with species of the gasseri, janeti, macrocephalus, reticulatus and vitreus groups, major workers phragmotic, using their heads to plug nest entrances (McArthur & Shattuck 2001). Nests exclusively in mangroves (Nielsen 2000)
C. aurocinctus group	Giant bearded sugar ants	Along with the related ceriseipes, denticulatus and terebrans groups, has a tuft of J-shaped hairs on the gula. Species of the aurocinctus group are the largest of these groups
C. ceriseipes group	Southern bearded sugar ants	See aurocinctus group. Occurs primarily in the southern semi-arid zone
C. claripes group	Pale-legged sugar ants	Pale legged
C. denticulatus group	Desert bearded sugar ants	See aurocinctus group. Occurs in the central and northern arid zones
C. discors group	Yellow disc sugar ants	As in evae group, trunk rounded in profile, disc-like; colour yellowish
C. ephippium group	Jumbuck sugar ants	Minor workers with angular, sheep-like heads
C. evae group	Black disc sugar ants	See discors group; colour black
C. gasseri group	Southern plug ants	See C. anderseni. Only 'plug ants' with a southern distribution
C. innexus group	Antarctic sugar ants	One of the few species-groups centred on cool-temperate southern Australia
C. intrepidus group	Flumed sugar ants	Nests often with with chimney-like entrances
C. agilis	Agile flumed sugar ant	From species name
C. bendigensis	Red-legged flumed sugar ant	Blackish body with contrasting red legs
C. intrepidus	Coastal flumed sugar ant	Restricted to coastal southeastern Australia
C. molossus	Western flumed sugar ant	Only species occurring in Western Australia
C. piliventris	Inland flumed sugar ant	Widespread in inland southeastern Australia
C. suffusus	Golden flumed sugar ant	Gaster with golden pubescence
C. janeti group	Janet's plug ants	See C. anderseni. From species-group name
C. macrocephalus group	Rectangle plug ants	See C. anderseni. Rectangular trunk
C. howensis	Lord Howe Island rectangle plug ant	Endemic to Lord Howe Island
C. macrocephalus	Southern rectangle plug ant	Occurring in southeastern Australia
C. minimus group	Pygmy sugar ants	Very small for Camponotus
C. nigriceps group	Common sugar ants	Most conspicuous species-group in southern Australia (McArthur & Adams 1996)
C. consobrinus	Banded sugar ant	First gastric segment orange, contrasting with remaining segments
C. nigriceps	Black-headed sugar ant	From species name
C. prostans	Western sugar ant	Restricted to southwestern Australia
C. nigroaeneus group	Black sugar ants	Most common species are uniformly black
C. aeneopilosus	Golden black sugar ant	Gaster with striking golden pubescence
C. amperei	Mallee black sugar ant	Widespread in mallee habitats of southeastern Australia
C. inflatus	Australian honey-pot ant	Australia's best-known honey-pot ant
C. nigroaeneus	Southern black sugar ant	Restricted to mesic southeastern Australia
C. novaehollandiae group	Northern sugar ants	Most common Camponotus in northern Australia
C. pellax group	Silver sugar ants	Typically with silvery pubescence
C. reticulatus group	Netted plug ants	See C. anderseni. From species-group name
C. rubiginosus group	Coconut sugar ants	Strong coconut smell when crushed
C. subnitidus group	Aerial sugar ants	Antennae glabrous and exceptionally long
C. terebrans group	Brown bearded sugar ants	See aurocinctus group. Colour brownish
C. vitreus group	Northern plug ants	See C. anderseni. Tropical distribution
C. vitreus	Common northern plug ant	By far most common species
C. whitei group	Armoured sugar ants	Integument thick and heavily sculptured
C. whitei	Common armoured sugar ant	Most common and widely distributed species of group
C. group A (Andersen 2000)	Northern bearded sugar ants	See aurocinctus group. Occurs primarily in the western monsoonal tropics
Melophorus	Furnace ants	Exceptionally thermophilic
M. aeneovirens group	Giant beaked furnace ants	As in related froggatti group and Groups A and B, clypeus projecting over base of mandibles. Very large ants
M. anderseni group	Northern robber furnace ants	As with species of the related fulvihirtus group, these ants 'rob' brood from the nests of meat ants; occurring in the northern arid zone (Agosti 1997)
M. bruneus group	Brown furnace ants	From species-group name
M. froggatti group	Froggatt's beaked furnace ants	See aeneovirens group
M. fieldi group	Field furnace ants	From species-group name
M. fulvihirtus group	Southern robber furnace ants	See anderseni group; occurs in southern arid zone (Clark 1941)
M. hirsutus group	Barrel furnace ants	Trunk barrel-shaped
M. iridescens group	Racing furnace ants	Long-legged and particularly fast-moving
M. bagoti	Bagot's furnace ant	From species name
M. mjobergi group	Pygmy furnace ants	Very small species
M. pillipes group	Bottle-brush furnace ants	Tibiae clothed with long erect hairs
M. potteri group	Bulldozer furnace ants	Stout species with large mandibles, giving them the appearance of miniature bulldozers; specialist predators of termites (McAreavey 1947)
M. wheeleri group	Harvester furnace ants	Specialist seed-harvesters
M. group A (Andersen 2000)	Gracile beaked furnace ants	See aeneovirens group. Slim trunk and long legs
M. group B (Andersen 2000)	Beaded beaked furnace ants	See aeneovirens group. Antennae with bead-like segments
M. group C (Andersen 2000)	Silver furnace ants	Covered with silver pubescence
M. group D (Andersen 2000)	Robust furnace ants	Trunk and legs relatively short and stout
M. group E (Andersen 2000)	Rough furnace ants	Integument conspicuously sculptured
M. group F (Andersen 2000)	Mystery furnace ants	Taxonomic relationships with other groups a mystery!
Myrmecorhynchus	Possum ants	Arboreal
Notoncus	Epaulet ants	Prominent pronotal shoulders
N. ectatommoides group	Pronged epaulet ants	Pronged metanotal projection
N. enormis group	Bulbous epaulet ants	Bulbous metanotal projection
N. gilberti group	Smooth epaulet ants	Integument almost entirely smooth and shiny
N. hickmani group	Yellow epaulet ants	Characteristically pale in colour
N. spinisquamus group	Giant epaulet ants	Largest of all Notoncus
Notostigma	False sugar ants	Camponotus-like
Oecophylla smaragdina	Green tree ant	Established common name in northern Australia, where local populations have a strikingly green gaster
Opisthopsis	Strobe ants	Jerky motion
O. diadematus group	Black-capped strobe ants	Posterior part of head black
O. haddoni	Savanna strobe ant	Most common species in monsoonal zone
O. major	Tufted strobe ant	Pronotum with tuft of hairs
O. pictus	Painted strobe ant	From species name
O. rufithorax	Black-headed strobe ant	Head entirely black
O. rufoniger	Red-headed strobe ant	Head entirely red
Paratrechina	Parrot ants	Derived phonetically from genus name
P. minutula group	Baby parrot ants	Very small
P. obscura group	Swamp parrot ants	Characteristic of fringes of wetlands and other waterlogged habitats
P. vaga group	Forest parrot ants	Widespread in forests and woodlands
Polyrhachis	Spiny ants	Trunk and petiole characteristically spiny
subgenus Campomyrma	No general common name	Extremely variable morphologically
P. femorata group	Broad-nosed spiny ants	Frontal carinae very widely separated
P. femorata	Southern broad-nosed spiny ant	Occurring in southeastern Australia
P. flavibasis	Northern broad-nosed spiny ant	Occurring in northwestern Australia
P. gravis group	Gravis spiny ants	From species name
P. pseudothrinax	Unicorn spiny ant	Petiolar node with single, long medial spine
P. hirsuta group	Hairy spiny ants	From species-group name
P. inconspicua group	Little spiny ants	Relatively small size
P. macropus group	Mulga spiny ants	Characteristic of mulga habitats
P. micans group	False devil spiny ants	Myrma-like petiole
P. patiens group	Toothed spiny ants	Propodeum with teeth rather than spines
P. schwiedlandi group	Desert spiny ants	Major group in arid zone
P. sidnica group	Antarctic spiny ants	Distribution centred on the cool-temperate zone
subgenus Cyrtomyrma	Dome-backed spiny ants	Trunk dome-shaped
subgenus Chariomyrma	Savanna spiny ants	Most species occur in monsoonal zone
subgenus Hagiomyrma	Elegant spiny ants	Elegant appearance
subgenus Hedomyrma	Superb spiny ants	Superb appearance
subgenus Myrma	Devil spiny ants	Pitchfork-like petiole
subgenus Myrmhopla	Topless spiny ants	In most species, trunk without a distinct dorsal face
subgenus Myrmothrinax	Treble spiny ants	Petiole with three spines
subgenus Polyrhachis	Hooked spiny ants	Massive, hook-like spines
Prolasius	Mistral ants	Characteristic of cold habitats
P. bruneus group	Brown mistral ants	Colour brownish
P. nitidissimus group	Black mistral ants	Colour black
P. pallidus group	Yellow mistral ants	Colour yellowish
Pseudonotoncus	Spiny epaulet ants	Notoncus-like, but with propodeal and petiolar spines
Stigmacros	Snuggle-pot ants	Small, 'cute'-looking and uniquely Australian
subgenus Campostigmacros	Flat snuggle-pot ants	Trunk dorsally flattened
subgenus Chariostigmacros	Speckled snuggle-pot ants	Often densely punctate
subgenus Cyrtostigmacros	Bumpy snuggle-pot ants	Conspicuous metanotal tubercles
subgenus Hagiostigmacros	Spiny snuggle-pot ants	Prominent propodeal and petiolar spines
subgenus Stigmacros	Baby snuggle-pot ants	Smallest species

Subfamily Leptanillinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Leptanilla	Phantom army ants	Subterranean, army ant-like species, with several known only from alates collected at lights

Subfamily Myrmeciinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Myrmecia	Bull ants	Established common name (Ogata & Taylor 1991)
M. aberrans group	Wide-jawed bull ants	Mandibles broadly triangular
M. gulosa group	Giant bull ants	Extremely large species
M. mandibularis group	Toothless bull ants	Shaft of mandibles without teeth
M. pilosula group	Jumping jacks	Established common name, due to distinctive jumping motion
M. tepperi group	Buck-toothed bull ants	Asymmetrical mandibular teeth
M. urens group	Baby bull ants	Smallest of all Myrmecia

Subfamily Myrmicinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Adlerzia	Thumbelina ants	'Thumb print' sculpturing on pronotal dorsum
Aphaenogaster	Funnel ants	Established common name; nest entrances with funnel-like craters
A. barbigula group	Desert funnel ants	Occurring in southern semi-arid zone
A. longiceps group	Forest funnel ants	Occurring in wetter habitats
Colobostruma	Fierce gremlin ants	Along with the related dacetines Epopostruma and Mesostruma, having a peculiar 'alien'-like appearance. Species of Colobostruma have a rather fierce expression
Crematogaster	Valentine ants	Heart-shaped gaster
C. laeviceps group	Common valentine ants	Most common species
C. queenslandica group	Little valentine ants	Smallest species
Epopostruma	Snappy gremlin ants	See Colobostruma; elongate, trap-jaw mandibles
Lordomyrma	Royal ants	Derived from 'Lord', and morphologically deserving of such a title!
Meranoplus	Shield ants	Dorsal surface of trunk expanded to form a shield-like plate
M. dimidiatus group	Box shield ants	Trunk box-like, with dorsal flanges feebly developed
M. diversus group	Harvester shield ants	Specialist granivores
M. fenestratus group	Holy shield ants	Dorsal flanges with translucent 'windows'
M. froggatti group	False turtle ants	Apparently related to testudineus group, but with flanges not so developed
M. hirsutus group	Jungle shield ants	Major group of tropical rainforest
M. mjobergi group	Chocolate shield ants	Integument invariably dark-brown and smooth
M. testudineus group	Turtle ants	Dorsal flanges remarkably extensive
Mesostruma	Solemn gremlin ants	See Colobostruma; solemn expression
Metapone	Termite-gallery ants	Highly specialised to live in termite galleries (Taylor 1991)
Monomorium	Mono ants	Derived from genus name
M. bifidum group	Northern fanged mono ants	Clypeus with prominent projections; restricted to northwestern Australia
M. carinatum group	Angled mono ants	Trunk often with distinct dorsal and lateral faces
M. insolescens group	Monsoonal mono ants	Restricted to the monsoonal zone
M. laeve group	Yellow mono ants	Colour yellowish
M. longiceps group	Mallee mono ants	Characteristic of mallee habitats of southern semi-arid zone
M. nigrius group	Black mono ants	Colour blackish
M. fieldi	Hairy black mono ant	Hairs unusually dense and long
M. nigrius	Little black mono ant	Very small
M. rothsteini group	Smiling mono ants	Clypeal margin sinuate, giving it a smiling appearance
M. whitei group	Southern fanged mono ants	Clypeus with prominent projections; restricted to semi-arid southern Australia
Orectognathus	Goblin ants	Morphologically bizarre dacetines
Pheidole	Big-headed ants	Major workers with disproportionately large heads
P. longiceps group	Knobbed big-headed ants	Pronotal shoulders with tubercles
P. hartmeyri group	Harvester big-headed ants	Large, specialist granivores of southern arid zone
P. mjobergi group	Savanna big-headed ants	Major group in monsoonal region
P. group A (Andersen 2000)	Speckled big-headed ants	Head densely punctate
P. impressiceps	Giant big-headed ant	Very large size
Podomyrma	Muscleman tree-ants	Arboreal ants, with swollen femora that are reminiscent of 'muscle-man' biceps
P. adelaidae	Spotted muscleman tree-ant	Gaster with pair of large, pale blotches
Pristomyrmex	Spiny jungle ants	With pronotal and propodeal spines; restricted to rainforest
Pyramica	Detritus ants	As in the related Strumigenys, tiny, cryptic dacetines with the appearance of detritus.
Solenopsis	Thief ants	Established common name for the only sub-genus (Diplorhoptrum) native to Australia; known to steal food from nests of other ants (Shattuck 1999)
Strumigenys	Snappy detritus ants	See Pyramica; elongate, trap-jaw mandibles
Tetramorium	Pennant ants	Pennant-like appendage on sting
T. impressum group	Impressive pennant ants	From species-group name
T. laticephalum group	Harvester pennant ants	Seed-harvesters
T. sjostedti group	Giant pennant ants	Largest of Australian Tetramorium
T. spininode group	Royal pennant ants	Described as the 'most spectacular' of the world's Tetramorium (Bolton 1977); gaster with a crown-like flange
T. striolatum group	Common pennant ants	Australia's most common species-group

Subfamily Nothomyrmeciinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Nothomyrmecia macrops	Dinosaur ant	Established common name, as considered a 'living fossil' (Taylor 1978)

Subfamily Ponerinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Amblyopone	Michelin ants	'Fat-waisted' (petiole with broad attachment to gaster)
A. australis	Southern michelin ant	Most conspicuous species in southern Australia
Anochetus	Lesser snappy ants	Trap-jaw mandibles (as in related but larger Odontomachus)
Bothroponera	Foaming ants	Venom with foaming substance
B. dentata group	Toothed foaming ants	Dorso-posterior margin of petiole serially dentate
B. excavata group	Eared foaming ants	Dorso-posterior margin of petiole with lateral projections
B. porcata group	Striped foaming ants	First gastric segment conspicuously striate
B. sublaevis group	Smooth foaming ants	Without gastric sculpture
Diacamma	Bladder ants	Possessing unique, bladder-like glands that regulate reproductive dominance (Peeters & Higashi 1989)
D. australe	Australian bladder ant	Endemic to Australia
D. levis	Smooth bladder ant	Less heavily sculptured than D. australe
Discothyrea	Clubbed trigger ants	Along with Proceratium, having a peculiarly reflexed, trigger-like gaster; antennal club massively swollen
Heteroponera	False pony ants	Related to Rhytidoponera
Hypoponera	Crypt ants	Subterranean, cryptic habits
Leptogenys	Genial killer ants	Specialist predators; 'genial' derived from 'genys'
Odontomachus	Giant snappy ants	See Anochetus
Platythyrea	Broad-nosed killer ants	Specialist predators with widely spaced frontal carinae
P. parallela group	Northern broad-nosed killer ants	Tropical distribution
P. turneri group	Southern broad-nosed killer ants	Southern distribution
Onychomyrma	False army ants	Exhibit army ant-like behaviour
Ponera	Blind crypt ants	Closely related to Hypoponera, but eyes usually absent
Proceratium	Trigger ants	See Discothyrea
Rhytidoponera	Pony ants	Genus sounds like 'ride a pony'
R. araneoides group	Spider pony ants	From species-group name
R. aspera group	Rough blue pony ants	With strikingly blue iridescence; 'rough' from species-group name
R. aurata group	Lesser-horned pony ants	Occipital corners produced into sharp angles (see related taurus group)
R. convexa group	Convex pony ants	From species-group name
R. impressa group	Blue pony ants	Most species with strikingly blue iridescence
R. mayri group	Titan pony ants	Extremely large species
R. metallica group	Metallic pony ants	From species-group name
R. punctata group	Speckled pony ants	Integument punctate
R. reticulata group	Netted pony ants	From species-group name
R. taurus group	Greater-horned pony ants	Occipital corners produced into horn-like projections (see related aurata group)
R. tenuis group	Delicate pony ants	Small and gracile
R. turneri group	Shark-finned pony ants	Propodeum reflexed
R. tyloxys group	Killer pony ants	Appear to be specialist predators

Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae

Scientific name	Common name	Explanation
Tetraponera	Black tree ants	Black, arboreal ants
T. punctulata	Savanna black tree-ant	Occurs throughout monsoonal Australia
T. nitida	Toothed black tree-ant	Small ventral teeth on petiole