Prolasius advenus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
Prolasius advenus is a species of ant in the genus Prolasius. It is endemic to New Zealand, where it is widespread across the North and South Islands, including offshore islands. P. advenus typically occurs in forest habitat, but can also sometimes be found in open habitats such as tussocks. It was first formally described in 1862 by Frederick Smith from a specimen collected in Lyttelton. It is commonly referred to as the "small brown bush ant". The ant is small and coloured brown, with workers being 2.9–3.5 mm in length. Colonies typically have hundreds of workers and several queens. It is a generalist forager that scavenges for food. When starved of food, it becomes more aggressive towards other ant species. Unlike some other ant species, the worker is not sterile and can produce male offspring if the queen is absent. Several species of beetle, such as Holloceratognathus passaliformis and Neosampa granulata, live in the nests. P. advenus is impacted by high densities of Vespula wasps, which cause genetic bottlenecks and result in the worker having a smaller body size.
This species was first described as Formica advena by Frederick Smith in 1862 from a specimen collected... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Brown Bush Ant sighting in Arthur's Pass National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 26th most-seen of the 60 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and May
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Small Brown Bush Ant in Arthur's Pass National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June–October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Brown Bush Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Arthur's Pass National Park, in our data
Arthur's Pass National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Small Brown Bush Ant sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Formicidae
The closest relatives of the Small Brown Bush Ant that you can see in Arthur's Pass National Park (family Formicidae, Ants) are Southern Ant (about 20%) and Striated Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Brown Bush Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Arthur's Pass National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
