Black-scaped Bull ant

Myrmecia nigriscapa · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Black-scaped Bull ant
Photo: author, CC BY 2.0

Workers are about 17 to 25 mm long, queens reach 23 to 26 mm and males are 16 to 20 mm in size. Their head, thorax and node are red, legs are yellow-red, and mandibles and clypeus are reddish-yellow. This ant is native to Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Workers measure 17 to 25 mm, queens 23 to 26 mm, and males 16 to 20 mm in length.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It is native to Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Black-scaped Bull ant photo 3
Photo: Connor Margetts, CC BY
Black-scaped Bull ant photo 4
Photo: Roberto Keller, CC BY
Black-scaped Bull ant photo 5
Photo: Kym Nicolson, CC BY
Black-scaped Bull ant photo 6
Photo: U.Name.Me, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

How big are they?

Workers are 17 to 25 mm long, queens 23 to 26 mm, and males 16 to 20 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where are they from?

They are native to Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Formicidae)

Eastern Black Carpenter AntEastern Black Carpenter AntCamponotus pennsylvanicusCan damage your homeRed Imported Fire AntRed Imported Fire AntSolenopsis invictaCan stingAmerican Winter AntAmerican Winter AntPrenolepis imparisArgentine AntArgentine AntLinepithema humileNuisance, not dangerousImmigrant Pavement AntImmigrant Pavement AntTetramorium immigransCan stingOdorous House AntOdorous House AntTapinoma sessileCan damage your home

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmecia_nigriscapa

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.