Biology
Species of Diacamma nest in loose debris on the ground’s surface or less commonly in soil with a mound around the entrance.  Many nests are only used for a short period before the colony moves to a new site, although nests in soil can be used for many years and can develop into large mounds with a single large entrance.  The usual queen caste is lacking and instead mated workers produce brood.  For details concerning the biology of these ants, see Billen and Peeters (1991), Peeters and Higashi (1989) and Peeters, Billen and Hölldobler (1992).
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Distribution and Habitats
Diacamma contains 42 known species and subspecies which are found from India east through South-east Asia and south through Indonesia into New Guinea and Australia.  Within Australia they occur in savannah woodlands through rainforests along the east coast of Queensland south to about Bundaberg, and in riparian areas of the Top End of the Northern Territory (see map). 
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Identification Notes
The sides of the mesosoma above the front legs and just below the upper surface with conspicuous pocket-like pits on each side (Figs 1a, 3).  The petiole is armed with a pair of spines on its upper surface (Figs 1b. 3).  These large, black ants are immediately recognisable by the pit on the side of the mesosoma and the spines on the upper surface of the petiole.
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Diacamma Mayr 1862:718. Type species: Ponera rugosa Le Guillou, by subsequent designation of Bingham 1903:75.

Taxonomic Catalogue

Go to the Taxonomic Catalogue of Species.

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Literature Cited / Additional Reading

Billen, J. P. J., Peeters, C. 1991. Fine structure of the gemma gland in the ant Diacamma australe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Belg. J. Zool. 121:203-210.
Bingham, C.T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera. Ants and cuckoo-wasps. London : Taylor & Francis Vol. 2 507 pp.
Mayr, G.L. 1862. Myrmecologische Studien. Verh. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 12: Abhand. 649-776.
Peeters, C., Billen, J. P. J., Holldobler, B. 1992. Alternative dominance mechanisms regulating monogyny in the queenless ant genus Diacamma. Naturwissenschaften 79:572-573.
Peeters, C., Higashi, S. 1989. Reproductive dominance controlled by mutilation in the queenless ant Diacamma australe. Naturwissenschaften 76:177-180.
Shattuck, S. O., Barnett, N. 2006. Australian species of the ant genus Diacamma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8:13-19.

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