Myrmecia nigrocincta: The Jumper Ant of Eastern Australia
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Myrmecia nigrocincta is the jumper ant of eastern Australia: an orange-red and black bull ant that can leap up to 10 cm, hunts caterpillars in the trees and defends its nest so fiercely that it even reacts to shadows. Here is all about this lively species.
Names and appearance
Myrmecia nigrocincta is commonly called the jumper ant or jumping jack. Workers are around 13 to 15 mm long, males 16 to 17 mm and queens 17 to 19 mm. The ants have a distinctive pattern of orange-red and black. The queen has short, reduced wings and cannot fly.
Where does it live?
The jumper ant lives in eastern Australia, mostly on the coastal plains, from Queensland through New South Wales to Victoria, with a few colonies in South Australia. It is found in dry forests and open woodland. Nests are built in sandy soil, sometimes under a small mound, usually next to a clump of grass, a bush or the base of a tree, and are camouflaged with twigs, leaves and gravel.
Champion jumper
By suddenly stretching its middle and hind legs, the jumper ant can leap around 8 to 10 cm. It has good eyes and sometimes even jumps from branch to branch.
Hunting in the trees
Unlike many bull ants, the jumper ant forages mostly on plants and trees. It is active during the day and hunts caterpillars and spiders. It is known to hunt the caterpillars of the imperial hairstreak butterfly, sometimes jumping while carrying one. It also visits flowers and is seen as a possible pollinator of the mountain ash, one of the tallest trees in the world.
A fierce defender
The jumper ant defends its nest aggressively and reacts even to shadows. The American myrmecologist William Morton Wheeler compared the workers rushing out of the nest to "Lilliputian cavalry galloping to battle". Its sting is very painful and can cause a burning feeling that lasts for days.
Colony life
A colony has one queen and between roughly 400 and 1,200 ants. The queen hunts for food while founding her colony. Workers can also reproduce and continue the colony without a queen. Workers live a little over a year.
More about bull ants
Read the difference in bull ant or jack jumper, learn more in how bull ants hunt, or see all bull ant species.
Want to keep this species? We sell bull ants from time to time, from legal sources and only for experienced keepers. Check the Myrmecia nigrocincta product page to see if it is available.
Sources
Wikipedia. Myrmecia nigrocincta.
Wikipedia. Myrmecia (ant).
Photos: © Nigel Main, © Austen Armstrong, © Prissm
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