Small Arid Honey-carrying Ant
Queen, Petiole
Ellura
Small Arid Honey-carrying Ant
Queen, Ocelli
 
                      
Small Arid Honey-carrying Ant (Melophorus sp ES02)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Insects (Insecta)
Order: Ant Bee Wasps (Hymenoptera)
Family: Modern Ant (Ant: Formicidae Formicinae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Small Arid Honey-carrying Ant (Melophorus sp ES02)
This Photo:     🔍Queen, Mandibles🔎
Other name: Furnace Ant

Thank you Kate Sandiford for identifying and Emmett Collins-Sussman for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
~4mm long, Dealate Queen.
Has visible ocelli & marks on it's back where the wings detatched.
Given queens are the largest caste in a nest, it must be a different species to our previous find.

Copyright © 2021-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 04-Apr-2021
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.