Workers are robust and commonly around 10–13 mm.
Fine-art photographic collection
Diacamma rugosum
A queenless ant in which one mated worker controls reproduction.
About this species
Diacamma rugosum(Le Guillou, 1842)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Diacamma rugosum is a predatory ground ant of tropical Asia. Colonies lack a morphologically distinct queen; instead, one reproductive worker, the gamergate, lays most eggs.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Diacamma
Source checked · checked 2026-07-15
South and Southeast AsiaBroad documented localities — not a complete range map.
South Asia through mainland and island Southeast Asia.
Tropical forest floor, plantations, gardens and disturbed ground.
Workers forage individually or in small numbers for live prey and carrion.
Arthropods, carrion and occasional sugary liquids.
Small to medium colonies are headed reproductively by one mated gamergate rather than a winged queen.
What makes this species remarkable?
Newly emerged workers bear small thoracic appendages called gemmae.
The reproductive worker removes the gemmae of nestmates, preventing them from mating.
Colonies can relocate by tandem running, with one worker guiding another to the new site.