Sirex Woodwasp vs Cocktail Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sirex Woodwasp Cocktail Ant
Scientific Name Sirex noctilio Crematogaster peringueyi
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Siricidae Formicidae
Size 15-36 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Farmland Woodlands
Diet Fungus Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Europe, Africa, Australasia, South America Southern Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Sirex Woodwasp

A large blue-black woodwasp that bores into pine trees to lay eggs. It injects a symbiotic fungus into the wood that feeds its developing larvae.

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Did You Know?

Females carry a special fungus in abdominal glands and inoculate trees during egg-laying.

Cocktail Ant

A small dark ant that holds its heart-shaped gaster raised above its body like a flag. It nests in dead wood and under bark.

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Did You Know?

When alarmed, they raise their abdomen over their back like a scorpion and exude a drop of repellent venom.