Darwin's Ant

Darwin's ant is a species that is Endemic to Australia. Within Australia, they have been confirmed in regions of Victoria, South and Western Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and also coastal areas of the Northern Territory.

Darwin's ant lives in colonies like most other ants, meaning that there are queens, workers, adult males and a brood. There is very little information to be found on the phenology of Darwin's ant, and so it is compared with that of a similar ant, the Argentine ant, Iridomyrmex humilis. So, in the Argentine ant, the queens are fertilized by males that are in the nest, causing the queens to lay eggs which are pearly white in colour and shaped elliptically. Time for eggs to hatch: 12–60 days Larval stage completion: 11–60 days Pupal stage: 10–25 days The average period between egg to adult: 75 days The ants will not disperse until food supplies are low or conditions are unfavorable and as they can survive underwater for large periods of time when they do disperse it can be by methods of floating on storm water or rivers. The main condition is that a fertile queen is transported as new workers being introduced to an area is not enough to start a colony. At present, the main dispersal route is using human commerce, such as pot plants, previously discussed or by transport of timber or rubbish. Colonies can be very small or very large, varying between dozens and thousands. There can also be multiple queen ants.