1 Answer

Jumping jack, bull ants and jumping ants are members of the Myrmecia genus – a primitive group of ants found only in Australia and New Calendonia. There are 89 species within this group.

Professor Simon Brown from the Australian Ant Venom Allergy Study (AAVAS) says the three main species of ants that cause anaphylactic reactions in Australia are:

Jack jumper, hopper ant, jumping jack – M. pilosula species complex (pictured left) – There are at least five different species located in Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, ACT, NSW (from the Snowy Mountains up to Armidale in northern NSW) and Western Australia.

This group is responsible for about 90 per cent of anaphylaxis in Australia, particularly in Tasmania. Researchers from the AAVAS have developed a highly effective desensitisation treatment for people allergic to the M. pilosula species found in Tasmania.

Common bull ant – there are at least four to five different species including M. forficata (found in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW), M. gratiosa (Perth WA) and M. pyriformis (found in Victoria, South Australia and NSW).

Jumping ant – M. nigrocincta – can be found in SE Queensland and northern NSW.

There are also at least two other species of jumper ants known to cause anaphylaxis in Western Australia, including M. ludlowi.

Other types of ants that can cause an anaphylactic reaction include greenhead ants – Rhytidoponera metallica – and the imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, both found in Queensland.