Myrmecia gulosa: The Red Bull Ant

Nov 3

2 min read

Updated: 1 day ago

Myrmecia gulosa, the red bull ant, is one of the classic bull ants of eastern Australia. It is large, red and black, has excellent eyes and a painful sting. It even has a place in history: it was one of the first Australian insects ever collected by a European.

Myrmecia gulosa, the red bull ant, with a reddish brown head and thorax — Myrmecia gulosa, a giant bull ant from eastern Australia.

Names

Myrmecia gulosa is commonly called the red bull ant or giant bull ant. It is the emblem of the Australian Entomological Society.

Collected by Joseph Banks

The first specimen of Myrmecia gulosa was collected in 1770 by the naturalist Joseph Banks, who sailed with James Cook on his first voyage to Australia. That makes it one of the first Australian insects ever collected and described by a European.

Myrmecia gulosa, a large red and black bull ant from eastern Australia — The long jaws of Myrmecia gulosa.

Appearance

Workers are around 15 to 30 mm long, which makes this one of the larger ant species in the world. The head and thorax are reddish brown, the rear part of the gaster is black, and the long jaws are yellowish brown.

Where does it live?

The red bull ant is common in eastern Australia, especially in coastal Queensland and eastern New South Wales. It also occurs in other parts of Australia, from the Australian Capital Territory to Western Australia, and a specimen was recorded in Victoria in 2024. It has been found from low ground up to around 2,000 metres.

Myrmecia gulosa, the red bull ant with its long yellowish brown jaws — Myrmecia gulosa.

Nests

Colonies build small mounds in open areas, and the tunnel systems below them can become quite extensive. Foragers are often seen near areas that have recently burnt.

Sharp eyes

Workers rely on their eyes rather than their sense of smell, and they can spot and respond to intruders up to two metres away. Read more in how bull ants see.

Hunters that cannot chew

The red bull ant is an aggressive solitary hunter that can overpower bees and other ants. Adult workers cannot eat solid food: they drink the juices of their prey and pass the meat on to the larvae. Workers also lay special eggs that never hatch, which are fed to the queen and the larvae. Read more in how bull ants hunt.