Rich Spiny Sugar ant

Polyrhachis dives · Order: Hymenoptera · Family: Formicidae

Can bite. They can deliver a strong and painful bite.

Polyrhachis dives is a widely distributed ant from southern Asia and northern Australia that builds silk-stitched nests in trees and shrubs. In Japan it is smaller and more timid than the similar Polyrhachis lamellidens, and it is known for a strong, painful bite in rural Okinawa.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The species shows little variation across its range, with only minor differences between individuals. Southeast Asian ants often have a deeper notch on the front of the clypeus and eyes that rarely extend beyond the side of the head.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

In Japan it is smaller than Polyrhachis lamellidens and consequently more timid.

Source: Wikipedia

Does it bite or sting?

The ant can bite, delivering a strong and painful wound.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It prefers open savannah woodlands and swampy coastal plains, building relatively large silk or carton nests among shrub branches and leaves.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

In Japan it can be confused with Polyrhachis lamellidens, but it is smaller and more timid.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Questions people ask

Do they bite?

Yes, they can bite and the bite is described as strong and painful.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I tell them apart from similar ants?

In Japan they are smaller and more timid than Polyrhachis lamellidens, and Southeast Asian specimens often have a deeper notch on the front of the clypeus and eyes that stay within the head outline.

Source: Wikipedia

What kind of nests do they build?

They build nests in trees, stitching leaves together with larval silk, and often create large silk or carton nests among shrub branches in open savannah woodlands and swampy coastal plains.

Source: Wikipedia