Pheidole megacephala
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Pheidole megacephala is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is commonly known as the big-headed ant in the US and the coastal brown ant in Australia. It is a very successful invasive species and is considered a danger to native ants in Australia and other places. It is regarded as one of the world's worst invasive ant species.
Pheidole megacephala was described from a specimen from the island of Mauritius by the entomologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, although a 1775 record exists for Egypt, under the name Formica edax. Regardless of its African origin, big-headed ants have since spread to many tropical and subtropical parts of the world.
There are two castes (types) of worker ants, the major worker and the minor worker. The common name of bigheaded ant derives from the major worker's disproportionately large head. Major workers are not primarily involved in defence like soldiers of other ant species. They have thick and powerful mandibles which they use to crush seeds and cut up other larger pieces of food for the smaller and more numerous minor workers to transport back to the nest. The major workers are about four millimetres... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisbane | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Perth | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 9 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Big-Headed Ant sighting in San Diego on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 379th most-seen of the 693 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Big-Headed Ant in San Diego on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Big-Headed Ant sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate African Big-Headed Ant sightings, San Diego ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 10%), Perth (Australia, about 10%) and Miami (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Big-Headed Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in San Diego (23 verified sightings), 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.
