Bug Wiki
Sticker of Mediterranean acrobat ant
Bug card No. 2808 of 4,939

Mediterranean acrobat ant

Crematogaster scutellaris
Eats: A bit of everythingAntsForests and woods6 legs

The Mediterranean acrobat ant has a reddish head and a black body. Its back end is shaped like a pointy heart. When it feels in danger, it lifts that pointy tail high up in the air like an acrobat.

Lives in
Around the Mediterranean Sea in Europe, the Near East and North Africa
Length
5 mm (0.2 in)
workers; the queen is up to 8 mm
Top speed
about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
On foot, estimate
What does it eat?
Workers carry home sweet sugary liquids and bits of small dead insects and other little creatures.
For real!Photo of Mediterranean acrobat ant
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Mediterranean acrobat ant about 5 mm long (0.2 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 12 seconds

How big is Mediterranean acrobat ant compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

When it lifts its tail, it lets out a tiny drop of smell. That smell calls the whole nest to come and help.

2

It builds its nest in old stumps, fallen logs and dead branches, using chewed wood and soil.

3

It hunts the caterpillars of a moth that badly damages pine trees around the Mediterranean.

4

It carries live aphids into oak galls, maybe to keep them through the winter.

you asked

Most asked questions about Mediterranean acrobat ant

?Why is it called an acrobat ant?

Because it raises its pointy back end high in the air when it feels attacked.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Crematogaster scutellaris
Named by
Olivier, 1792
Group
Ants
Family
Formicidae
Classification
Insecta > Hymenoptera > Formicidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa

Where the facts come from

  1. Crematogaster scutellaris (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Ants

Also at home here: Forests and woods

Honey jarfor grown-ups