Meranoplus Bicolor: New Ant Specie in the Philippines Discovered in Mikey Bustos' Backyard

A content creator's backyard was the claimed location of a meranoplus bicolor ant sighting from India. Now recognized as a new geographic site for the species is the Philippines.

A red and black ant that had peach fuzz as well as spines on its back was something Mikey Bustos, a Filipino-Canadian video creator and performer, found two years ago and said he had never seen before.

Bustos claimed that after sending samples to Dr. Dave General, an ant taxonomist at the University of the Philippines Los Banos, and a friend in the myrmecology field, they were both shocked to learn that it was Meranoplus bicolor, a species of ant that had not before been known to exist in the Philippines.

Where do Meranoplus bicolor live?

According to Surekha Chate and Ramrao Chavan, researchers for a prior study, this ant species, also known as bicolored shield ant, species moves slowly while foraging on the ground.

These ants prefer less disturbed areas with bare ground, grassland, sparse forest, and other habitats. The species feeds on nectar from flowers and harvested grass seed.

Many Asian nations are home to Meranoplus bicolor, a species of ant belonging to the Myrmicinae subfamily. Its habitats vary from open grasslands to open-canopied woods. They build a basic hole-shaped nest in the ground, typically at the foot of plants. Sometimes a nest will have several entrances. The species' worker ants feed both on the ground and on plants, where they make use of extrafloral nectaries and care for aphids.

Who discovered Meranoplus bicolor?

The geographical scientific finding of the ants was attributed to Bustos in 2021.

The content creator recently stated that he was shocked to see that he has been given credit for the geographical scientific discovery of the ant species, which he is currently rearing a colony of for the Philippines, as he was doing additional research on the species.

He designated it Species #555 since it was the 555th ant species discovered in the Philippines.

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What is the common name for Meranoplus bicolor?

Meranoplus bicolor is also known as shield ants. Bustos subsequently said that, if more people had the time to look, they could be surprised by what they might discover in their own backyards.

Bustos is an ant enthusiast and the creator of AntsCanada, an organization that advocates for ant awareness and habitat preservation. A recent "Amazing Earth" broadcast showcased his ant farm.

Nine different varieties of ants can commonly be seen in backyards or public spaces in the Philippines. These species include the fire ant, pavement ant, weaver ant, carpenter ant, ghost ant, pharaoh ant, black house ant, and ghost ant. With the inclusion of Meranoplus bicolor, or as Bustos refers to it, Species #555, there are now a total of 10 species of ants that are typically seen in backyards in the Philippines.