Ponerinae Harpegnathos venator
I found a very aggressive ant, chewing on a spider. Its mandibles were long and menacing, with a barb. Unfortunately, I only managed one shot before I lost the specimen in the undergrowth.
From the image, the defining features are the long mandibles and the huge eyes, giving excellent eyesight. The specimen was clearly identified as family Ponerinae.
The Alex Wild site, which I have found very reliable, gave me genus of Harpegnathos.
http://www.alexanderwild.com/
AntWiki gave me a list of eleven species with pics and regional information.
http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Category:Harpegnathos_species
The three possible species that were close in color, form and region were; venator and hobbyi. The brown tint on hobbyi, and the shape at the back of the head were not right, and a good match with venator. I am comfortable with this ID.
Another good site is Tom Fayle’s PDF, page 18, which confirmed the genus of Harpegnathos.
http://www.tomfayle.com/Key to the ant genera of Borneo v1 (English-Malay).pdf
As ants go, this was an exciting find, but identifying ants is always tedious and sends me to sleep. Fortunately there are a few very good ant enthusiasts out there, who have generously shared their knowledge.
Location is Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Alongside a stream and paddy fields.
''Harpegnathos venator'' is a species of ant found in South and Southeast Asia. It is found in northern India and parts of Burma.
comments (3)
It is a harsh standard to get to species. Point in question, the boatman image. I spent all afternoon on that one, and never got past family!
Dave Posted 9 years ago