Blue ant
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:Speciesbox The blue ant (Diamma bicolor), also known as the blue-ant or bluebottle, is a species of flower wasp in the family Thynnidae.[1] It is the sole member of the genus Diamma and of the subfamily Diamminae. Despite its common name and wingless body, it is not an ant but rather a species of large, solitary, parasitic wasp.[2]
Distribution
The blue ant is endemic to south and southeast Australia, including the states of Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Description and identification
Blue ants have a distinctive metallic blue-green body, with red legs. The female ranges up to Script error: No such module "convert". in length, and is wingless. The male is smaller, about Script error: No such module "convert"., and has wings.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Biology
Blue ants are ground-nesting. They are unusual among members of the family Thynnidae in exclusively hunting mole crickets as larval provisions, whereas all other species of thynnids attack beetle larvae. The cricket is paralysed with venom injected by the female's stinger and an egg is laid upon it so the wasp larva has a ready supply of food.[3]
Adults feed on nectar and pollinate various native Australian flowers, such as Lomatia silaifolia.[4]
They are fast-moving and burrow under leaves to escape danger. They do not show aggression unless provoked.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Gallery
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Blue ant female
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Blue ant female with damaged antennae
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Blue ant male
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References
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External links
- Blue-ant Fact File (from the Australian Museum)
- Flower wasps (from the Australian Museum)
- Common names (and image) (from CSIRO Entomology)