Jack jumper homes in focus
A University of Tasmania research student is hoping to unlock some of the secrets of one of the state’s most painful residents - the jack jumper ant.
The jack jumper is less than a centimetre long, with a black body and orange pincers, and delivers a painful sting which can be lethal to people who are highly allergic.
Masters student, John Evans, is distributing a questionnaire to try to establish which soil, vegetation and climate types the ant prefers.
He hopes the information collected will help people with allergies either avoid high-risk areas or minimise existing dangers.
"They’re infamous really, everybody’s got an opinion about jack jumpers, yet there isn’t actually that much research on their biology or ecology so that’s one of the things I’m trying to achieve,” he said.
Mr Evans is getting some early indications on the ants’ preferences.
“At the moment I’m sort of getting the inkling that they prefer sort of drier vegetation types and drier environments,” he said.
“They like a bit of sunlight, not too much canopy cover, basically.
“So they need a bit of warmth, ants aren’t very good at maintaining their own warmth.”
The questionnaire is available at http://www.antallergy.org, and will soon be available on the university’s website.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/31/2203199.htm
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