Giant Forest Ant

Dinomyrmex gigas

''Dinomyrmex'' is a monotypic genus of ant containing the species ''Dinomyrmex gigas'' or giant forest ant. ''D. gigas'' is a large species of ant, native to Southeast Asian forests. It is one of the largest ants in existence, measuring in at 20.9 mm for normal workers, and 28.1 mm for the soldiers.
Giant Forest Ant / Dinomyrmex gigas - portrait Specimen. I've photographed this species before but this is a different specimen, with a better spread position. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/120795/giant_forest_ant_dinomyrmex_gigas_-_full_body.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/120794/giant_forest_ant_dinomyrmex_gigas_-_side_view.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/120792/giant_forest_ant_dinomyrmex_gigas_-_head.html Dinomyrmex gigas,Extreme Macro,Extreme Macro Portraits,Giant Forest Ant

Distribution

This species is found in Southeast Asian rain forests from Sumatra, Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo to Thailand.
Dinomyrmex gigas - Major Worker (head) Note: purchased specimen. Here's a series of images documenting Dinomyrmex gigas, one of the largest ants in the world. This species is nocturnal, therefore only incidentally spotted by day. This is a Major worker, sometimes just called "Major". Majors are sterile females tasked primarily as body guard for the rest of the colony when they go out at night to forage. Majors are significantly larger than minor workers, and have a heart-shaped massive head and giant mandables. They are described to grow to 28mm, whilst this one was even larger, at exactly 30mm. These female soldiers alternate between deadly force and ritualistic violence. When defending against other species, it's total war leading to regular death. No time is wasted on mourning as a subsitute troup of Major follows. However, when a Major meets another Major of the same species from a rival colony, something fascinating happens. They engage in ritual fights. They drum their feet in anticipation. As soon as one touches the other, it's game on, like boxers hitting first gloves. A ritual of intimidation follows, where antennae vibrate, mandibles are raised, and rapid front legs peddle like in a kangaroo fight. The indivual to sustain the longest, wins. Yet only this round. The loser retreats to recover, clean and recharge. And then will return to the same tournament spot for another go at it. The animals will keep doing this for up to one month, probably because one realizes a lack of an end game. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108317/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108320/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_abdomen.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108322/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_mandibles.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108328/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_portrait.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108344/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_head_sideview.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108346/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_head_detail.html Dinomyrmex gigas,Extreme Macro,Giant Forest Ant

Behavior

A handful of these ants may meet at night to engage in what has been observed to be ritual battle. These fights can continue for several months.

Colonies consist of typically about 7,000 workers, distributed unevenly among several nests. There are two types of workers, with the larger ones almost three times as heavy. They forage mainly at night, however, some workers will be outside the nest during the day.
Dinomyrmex gigas - Major Worker (portrait) Note: purchased specimen. Here's a series of images documenting Dinomyrmex gigas, one of the largest ants in the world. This species is nocturnal, therefore only incidentally spotted by day. This is a Major worker, sometimes just called "Major". Majors are sterile females tasked primarily as body guard for the rest of the colony when they go out at night to forage. Majors are significantly larger than minor workers, and have a heart-shaped massive head and giant mandables. They are described to grow to 28mm, whilst this one was even larger, at exactly 30mm. These female soldiers alternate between deadly force and ritualistic violence. When defending against other species, it's total war leading to regular death. No time is wasted on mourning as a subsitute troup of Major follows. However, when a Major meets another Major of the same species from a rival colony, something fascinating happens. They engage in ritual fights. They drum their feet in anticipation. As soon as one touches the other, it's game on, like boxers hitting first gloves. A ritual of intimidation follows, where antennae vibrate, mandibles are raised, and rapid front legs peddle like in a kangaroo fight. The indivual to sustain the longest, wins. Yet only this round. The loser retreats to recover, clean and recharge. And then will return to the same tournament spot for another go at it. The animals will keep doing this for up to one month, probably because one realizes a lack of an end game. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108317/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108320/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_abdomen.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108322/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_mandibles.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108331/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_head.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108344/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_head_sideview.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/108346/dinomyrmex_gigas_-_major_worker_head_detail.html Dinomyrmex gigas,Extreme Macro,Extreme Macro Portraits,Giant Forest Ant

Food

Honeydew makes up 90% of their diet, but they will also consume insects and bird droppings. The ant is an effective forager, utilizing both efficient communication and recruitment.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

https://wiki.nus.edu.sg/display/TAX/Dinomyrmex+gigas+-+Giant+forest+ant
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHymenoptera
FamilyFormicidae
GenusDinomyrmex
SpeciesD. gigas
Photographed in
Malaysia
Netherlands