Meat Ants

Iridomyrmex rubriceps · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

Also called: Rainbow Ants, Tyrant Ants

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Meat Ants
Photo: Nigel Main, CC BY

It lives in rainforest and wet sclerophyll areas along the east coast. The species is native to Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Found in rainforest and wet sclerophyll habitats, especially on the east coast.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Endemic to Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Meat Ants photo 3
Photo: Nigel Main, CC BY
Meat Ants photo 4
Photo: Nigel Main, CC BY
Meat Ants photo 5
Photo: Nigel Main, CC BY
Meat Ants photo 6
Photo: Nigel Main, CC BY

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/Iridomyrmex_rubriceps

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

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

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.