第 1006 號，共 1 402 號

Jack jumper ant

Myrmecia pilosula

名字的由來： The specific name pilosula comes from the Latin word pilosa, meaning 'covered with soft hair'. The common name 'jack jumper' comes from its jumping motion.1

需要看醫生很少致命，但被螫了需要看醫生。

螞蟻

螫吃：昆蟲

對人的危險: 嚴重被螫了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

The jack jumper ant is a venomous ant native to Australia. It is most common in Tasmania and south-east mainland Australia, and it is known for jumping long distances when it is disturbed. Its sting is usually mild, but it is one of the few ants that can be dangerous to people.1

分布在

Australia, mostly Tasmania and south-east mainland; widespread in most of Australia; not verified in the Northern Territory1

澳洲與大洋洲

首頁

Jack jumper ants live in open places such as gardens, lawns, pastures, woodlands and dry open forests, usually on fine gravel and sandy soil. In suburbs they build nests in rockeries, cracks in concrete walls and grass, and they are less common in urban areas.1

長度

1,1 cm 到 1,6 cm (0,4 in 到 0,6 in)1

最高速度

大約 0,19 km/h（0,12 mph）

在陸地上, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

Jack jumper ants prey on small insects. They kill other insects by injecting venom through a barbless stinger. Their food also includes nectar.1

Jack jumper ant 的照片 — Jack jumper ant。照片：Tony Eales。 CC BY-SA 4.0, iNaturalist.

怎麼認出牠

Black or blackish-red body, sometimes with yellow or orange legs1
Antennae, lower legs and mandibles (jaws) are yellow or orange1
Workers are medium-sized, about 12 to 14 mm long1
Grey, short hair on the body, longer on the back part of the abdomen1
Leaps about 51 to 76 mm when disturbed, and forms mounds of gravel and soil as nests1

常被誤認為： Other Myrmecia ants, such as M. nigrocincta, also jump when disturbed, so jumping alone does not identify this species.1

毒液力量

螫

毒液從螫針出來。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

The venom is unusually likely to cause allergy for an insect venom. In most people a sting causes only a mild reaction at the site. In people who are allergic, it can cause anaphylaxis, a severe whole-body reaction with a faster heart rate and falling blood pressure.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 嚴重被螫了需要看醫生。死亡案例非常罕見。

Most stings cause only a mild local reaction, but the jack jumper is one of the few ants that can be dangerous to humans. The venom causes about 90% of ant allergies in Australia. In areas where it lives, up to 3% of people may be allergic, and about half of those can have anaphylaxis, which rarely leads to death. Between 1980 and 2000, four people died from anaphylaxis caused by jack jumper stings, all in Tasmania.1

牠害怕時會做什麼？

When disturbed, they become aggressive towards humans, and they can see and follow an intruder from about 1 m away.1

如果牠螫人

For people prone to severe allergic reactions, the treatment is allergen immunotherapy, also called desensitisation.1
清洗並冷敷螫傷處。
如果傷者呼吸困難、臉部或喉嚨腫脹，或覺得快要昏倒，這就是過敏急症：打緊急電話。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識