#1715 & 1716 - Some Bullants
#1715 - Myrmecia nigriscapa - Black-scaped Bull Ant
One of at least 3 species of Bull-ant running around the Ambergate Reserve (although I couldn’t get a good photo of one of them, since their reaction to noticing me was to leap and spin and run around in a demented rage, or just fling themselves into space from the top of whatever plant they were exploring. This one, on the other hand, while obviously unimpressed by my attention, seemed reluctant to abandon the honeybee it had found for dinner.
Apparently quite timid for a bull-ant. Scattered populations in the SW of WA, but more widespread in the eastern states.
#1716 - Myrmecia vindex
This large and highly aggressive species was at the house in Yallingup, in a burrow underneath a small termite mound. It’s a Western Australian species (since I’m pretty sure the records for other states are just museums that have samples) and as it happens I’ve seen a male from the species before, right here at home.