Jack Jumper Ant

The **Myrmecia pilosula**, commonly known as the **jack jumper**, **jumping jack**, **hopper ant**, or **jumper ant**, is a species of venomous ant native to Australia. Most commonly found in Tasmania and southeast mainland Australia, it is a member of the genus *Myrmecia*, subfamily Myrmeciinae, and was formally described and named by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. This species is known for the ability to jump long distances. These ants are large; workers and males are approximately the same size: 12 to 14 millimetres (0.47 to 0.55 in) for workers, and 11 to 12 millimetres (0.43 to 0.47 in) for males. The queen measures approximately 14 to 16 millimetres (0.55 to 0.63 in) in length and is similar in appearance to workers, whereas males are identifiable by their perceptibly smaller mandibles.

Jack jumper ants are primarily active during the day and live in open habitats, nesting in bushland, woodland and dry open forests, surrounded by gravel and sandy soil, which can be found in rural areas and are less common in urban areas. They prey on small insects and use their barbless stinger to kill other insects by injecting venom. Other ants and predatory invertebrates prey on the jack jumper. The average worker has a life expectancy of over one year. Workers are gamergates, allowing them to reproduce with drones, whether or not a queen is present in the colony. The ant is a part of the *Myrmecia pilosula* species complex; this ant and other members of the complex are known to have a single pair of chromosomes.

Their sting generally only causes a mild local reaction in humans; however, it is one of the few ant species that can be dangerous to humans, along with other ants in the genus *Myrmecia*. The ant venom is particularly immunogenic for an insect venom; the venom causes about 90% of Australian ant allergies. In endemic areas, up to 3% of the human population has developed an allergy to the venom and about half of these allergic people can suffer from anaphylactic reactions (increased heart rate, falling blood pressure, and other symptoms), which can lead to death on rare occasions. Between 1980 and 2000, there were four deaths due to anaphylaxis from jack jumper stings, all of them in Tasmania. Individuals prone to severe allergic reactions caused by the ant's sting can be treated with allergen immunotherapy (desensitisation).

## Description

Like its relatives, the ant possesses a powerful sting and large mandibles. These ants can be black or blackish-red in colour, and may have yellow or orange legs. The ant is medium-sized in comparison to other *Myrmecia* species, where workers are typically 12 to 14 millimetres (0.47 to 0.55 in) long. Excluding mandibles, jack jumpers measure 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in length. The ant's antennae, tibiae, tarsi and mandibles are also yellow or orange. Pubescence (hair) on the ant is greyish, short and erect, and is longer and more abundant on their gaster, absent on their antennae, and short and suberect on their legs. The pubescence on the male is grey and long, and abundant throughout the ant's body, but it shortens on the legs. The mandibles are long and slender (measuring 4.2 millimetres (0.17 in)), and concaves around the outer border.

The queen has a similar appearance to the workers, but its middle body is more irregular and coarser. The queen is also the largest, measuring 14 to 16 millimetres (0.55 to 0.63 in) in length. Males are either smaller or around the same size as workers, measuring 11 to 12 millimetres (0.43 to 0.47 in). Males also have much smaller triangular mandibles than workers and queens. The mandibles on the male contain a large tooth at the centre, among the apex and the base of the inner border.[8] Punctures (tiny dots) are noticeable on the head, which are large and shallow, and the thorax and node are also irregularly punctuated. The pubescence on the male's gaster is white and yellowish.

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