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Mountain Trap-Jaw AntLive photo

Species & care sheets

Mountain Trap-Jaw Ant

Odontomachus monticola · มดกระโดดเขาสูง

DifficultyHardHow often it is foundพบได้ไม่ยากDefencesAggressive

Photo © 夏仲归 · CC BY

A matte-black trap-jaw ant from Asia's mountains with one of the fastest strikes in the animal kingdom, used both to hunt and to catapult itself away from danger. For expert keepers only.

Overview

Temperature

รัง 21-25°C / บริเวณหากิน 22-26°C

Humidity

รัง 70-85% / บริเวณหากิน 60-75%

Diet

Sugar · Insects

Nest type

natural dirt / Ytong / acrylic with substrate

Growth

Medium

Colony size

100-300 ตัว

  • Difficulty — นางราชินีเป็นแบบ Semi-claustral ที่ต้องการอาหารระหว่างตั้งรัง และต้องการความชื้นสูงสม่ำเสมอ
  • Colony size — รังขนาดใหญ่เต็มที่มักมีประชากรไม่เกินหลักพันตัว
  • How often it is found — มีข้อมูลบันทึกพบค่อนข้างมาก เจอได้ไม่ยากนัก — เคยมีวางขายในร้านนักเลี้ยงมดต่างประเทศ (แต่ปัจจุบันหมด/ไม่พร้อมส่ง) · Records in Thailand 2 · Records worldwide 768 · Hobbyist market: Was sold, now out of stock

Derived from record counts in global databases (GBIF · AntWeb · iNaturalist), not from how common the ant is in Thailand. — น่าเชื่อถือสูง — มีบันทึกพิกัด/ตัวอย่างในไทยจริง (GBIF/AntWeb)

What it eats

SugarsProteinSeedsFungus
Care sheet in progressData confidence: สูง

Size

Body length by caste, and the ants drawn to scale on a credit card

Queen
14-16 mm
Worker
11-14 mm

Actual size against a credit card

Ants are drawn to scale on a standard card (85.6 × 54 mm) — hold a real card against the screen and move the slider until the card matches, and the ants are then life-size.

ANTVERSE
Scale card · 85.6 × 54 mm
Worker
~12.5 mm
Queen
~15 mm
324 px

Behaviour & care

Defences

Aggressive

Attacks when disturbed — handle with care.

Stings
Bites

Colony profile

Queens

Single queen (monogyne)

Founding

Semi-claustral

Diapause

Not required

Growth

Medium

In depth

กลไกกรามของมดในสกุล Odontomachus นับเป็นหนึ่งในการเคลื่อนไหวของสัตว์ที่เร็วที่สุดในโลก ใช้ทั้งในการล่าเหยื่อและการดีดตัวหลบหนีภัย
Appearance

Large ants featuring iconic trap-jaws that lock open at 180 degrees and snap shut at extreme speeds. They have a slender dark brown to black body equipped with a functional sting.

Photo © Mantre Passah · CC BY-NC

Where it lives

Widespread across East and Southeast Asia, typically inhabiting moist forest floors, leaf litter, and mountainous regions.

Found in
East Asia and Southeast Asia

Photo © Yuchen · CC BY-NC

Behaviour

Active ground foragers and aggressive predators. When sensitive trigger hairs inside their mandibles are touched, their jaws snap shut instantly. They can also strike the ground with their mandibles to fling themselves backward out of harm's way.

Photo © smallpotato · CC BY-NC

Keeping it

Queens found semi-claustrally, requiring small insects and liquid sweets during the founding stage. High humidity (70-90%) and a suitable substrate are essential to help larvae spin cocoons properly.

Nest type
natural dirtYtongacrylic with substrate
Where the difficulty is

Founding queens are prone to stress and require consistent feeding and humidity. Their painful sting requires careful handling during enclosure maintenance.

Fun fact

The species name "monticola" comes from Latin meaning "mountain-dweller," reflecting its preference for elevated and forested habitats.

Photo © Albert Jacobson · CC BY-NC

Sources

The Thai text is written from the facts in these sources, not copied from them. · Data confidence: สูง

This page is husbandry information only — live ants aren't sold on the site, for the animals' safety in transit.