Polyrhachis abdominalis

     These are black in colour and resemble a slimline form of P. armarta. As with most Polyrhachis, they are equipped with sharp spines on their thorax. They have two forward-facing and four backwards-facing spines, which discourage potential predators from trying to eat them.
     Colonies have a single queen and between 300 - 500 workers. The workers are 8 - 9 mm in size and the queen is slightly larger. They are day-active, foraging on trees and along the ground.
     They prefer to nest under loose bark or in pre-existing crevices in wood, and like many other Polyrhachis species, they will seal up any gaps, and create chambers out of chewed-up plant debris woven together with silk from their larvae.
     They seem quite adaptable regards nesting location, and although their natural habitat is the forest they can also be found on large trees in mature gardens and recreational parks.
     They take a wide range of food including secretions from plant suckers and dead insects.
     An interesting feature of this species is that their large mature larvae are green.
 
     Summary: A species not often offered for sale, but which can be kept in captivity quite easily.