Giant ants inhabit South Kalimantan's Bukit Manjai Biodiversity Park

Banjarmasin, S Kalimatan (ANTARA) - A team from the Indonesian Young Biology Scientists Forum found very large tree ants inhabiting the Tropical Rain Forest Biodiversity Park in Bukit Manjai Valley, Mandiangin Timur, Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan.

"The size of the ant is unusual reaching 31 milimeters for queen and 21 to 28 mm for male," said Ramadhan Jayusman from the forum here, Sunday.

The giant ant was found by accident, when Jayusman and his team were observing bats at night at the Bat Workshop on July 23, 2023 in the Biodiversity Park.

Jayus said that the animal is the insect family (insecta) of what is in scientific language called Dinomyrmex gigas. 

Based on the existing literature, the giant ant is thought to be Dinomyrmex gigas borneensis, a subspecies of Dinomyrmex gigas and endemic of Kalimantan Island.

Giant ant tends to be active at night or nocturnal and will act agresively when someone threatens their nest. 

The working class of this ant usually stay awake all night and return to the nest in the morning when they finish searching for food.

Dinomyrmex gigas usually consumes a sticky liquid rich in sugar secreted by aphids. However, they also consume insect ands brid droppings as protein intake.

Jayus expounded that ants in the nature function as soil fertilizer, bioindicators, and pest predators.

He said, according to research, Dinomyrmex gigas has metaplural glands which are useful subtances for making antibiotics. 

"Perhaps it is these benefits that make up the price of this ant can reach millions of rupiah in Russia," he said.

Meanwhie, Ferry F. Hoesain, the founder of the Indonesian Tropical Rain Forest Foundation, the owner of Tropical Rain Forest Biodiversity Park in Bukit Manjai Valley, acknowledged that he was pleased with the discovery of the giant ants that add to the richness of the biodiversity ecosystem of the park.  

He hopes that in the future there will be a further research of the benefits of these ants, not only in the ecology, but also biomedical.

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