South and Southeast Asia
Fine-art photographic collection
Pseudoneoponera rufipes
A large stinging ant that fires a cloud of white defensive foam before an attacker reaches the colony.
About this species
Pseudoneoponera rufipes(Jerdon, 1851)
Information reviewed15 July 2026
Pseudoneoponera rufipes is a robust Asian ponerine ant. Workers forage on the ground and defend themselves with both a functional sting and a conspicuous foamy secretion expelled from the venom apparatus.
Taxonomy
Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Hymenoptera · Formicidae · Pseudoneoponera
Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15
South and Southeast AsiaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.
Tropical and subtropical forest floor, plantations and disturbed woodland.
Workers forage singly or in small numbers over the ground.
Predatory and scavenging, taking a range of terrestrial invertebrates.
Social; colonies are relatively small and may use reproductive workers called gamergates.
What makes this species remarkable?
When threatened, a worker can eject copious white foam from the venom-gland system, coating an attacker before close contact occurs.
The foam is not its only weapon: the ant retains a powerful sting and can escalate from chemical spray to direct injection.
Colonies can reproduce through mated workers known as gamergates, blurring the usual distinction between a queen caste and ordinary workers.