Monomorium antarcticum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Chelaner antarcticus, also known as the southern ant, is a species of ant endemic to New Zealand. It was first described in 1858 by British entomologist Frederick Smith and has undergone numerous taxonomic revisions. The ant is highly variable in size and colour, which has led scientists to suspect that it is in fact several species. It is widespread throughout New Zealand, even being found in the Kermadec Islands, and has also been observed in the Austral Islands. Colonies can be formed in a wide range of habitats such as native forest, grasslands and horticultural zones. The nest is constructed either under stones or under logs. It has a generalist diet that includes small arthropods, seeds and it also farms mealybugs for their secretions. C. antarcticus rarely co-occurs with several other species of ant, such as Prolasius advenus and the invasive argentine ant, with the reasons for this being a topic of research. The larva is known to be preyed upon by the larva of Helosciomyza subalpina, a species of fly.
This species was first described in 1858 by British entomologist Frederick Smith as Atta antarctica. In 1886, it was placed in the large and extremely diverse genus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Ant sighting in Fiordland National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 171st most-seen of the 201 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Ant in Fiordland National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March to October, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern 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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Southern Ant sightings, Fiordland National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Arthur's Pass National Park (New Zealand, about 20%) and Egmont National Park (New Zealand, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Southern Ant that you can see in Fiordland National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 20%), Common European Yellowjacket (about 10%) and Certonotus fractinervis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Fiordland National Park (5 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.
