Iridomyrmex bicknelli, also known as the black trail ant, is a species of ant belonging to the genus Iridomyrmex. The species is distributed in every single state and territory in Australia. Iridomyrmex bicknelli was described by Emery in 1898.[2]

Iridomyrmex bicknelli
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Iridomyrmex
Species:
I. bicknelli
Binomial name
Iridomyrmex bicknelli
Emery, 1898[1]

Subspecies

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  • Iridomyrmex bicknelli formosae Forel, 1912
  • Iridomyrmex bicknelli luteus Forel, 1915[3]

Description

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Size

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Queen: 7mm- 10mm in length

Worker- 2- 5mm in length.

Behaviour

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Workers are not aggressive, and do not have a stinger or spray formic acid. In the wild, queens are known to be polygynous with very high worker numbers. However, in a formicarium colonies are mainly monogynous with an average of 10,000 workers per colony. Queens are fully claustral, meaning they do not have nest entrances during the founding stage of a colony. They also do not require feeding during this time, [4] as they live on fat reserves from their own body.

References

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  1. ^ "Iridomyrmex bicknelli (Emery, 1898)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  2. ^ Emery, C (1898). Descrizioni di formiche nuove malesi e australiane. Note sinonimiche. pp. 236, figures 6, 7 worker described.
  3. ^ Bolton, B. (2015). "Iridomyrmex bicknelli luteus". AntCat. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Iridomyrmex bicknelli | AntsDavey". www.antsdavey.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-10-06.