''Myrmecia urens'' is a species of ant in the genus ''

Myrmecia Myrmecia can refer to: * ''Myrmecia'' (alga), genus of algae associated with lichens * ''Myrmecia'' (ant), genus of ants called bulldog ants * Myrmecia (skin), a kind of deep wart on the human hands or feet See also * '' Copromorpha myrmecias'' ...

'' (bulldog ants) found in Australia.

Taxonomy

Behaviour and ecology

While pollination by ants is somewhat rare, the orchid ''

Leporella fimbriata ''Leporella fimbriata'', commonly known as ''hare orchid'' or ''fringed hare orchid'', is the only species in the flowering plant genus ''Leporella'' in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to the southern Australia mainland. It is rela ...

'' is a

myrmecophyte Myrmecophytes (; literally "ant-plant") are plants that live in a mutualistic association with a colony of ants. There are over 100 different genera of myrmecophytes. These plants possess structural adaptations in the form of domatia where ants ...

which can only be pollinated by the winged males of this species. Pollination of this orchid usually occurs between April and June during warm afternoons, and may take several days until the males all die due to their limited lifespan. The flower mimics ''M. urens'' queens, and so the males move from flower to flower in an attempt to copulate with it.

References

urens Insects described in 1865 Orchid pollinators Hymenoptera of Australia {{Myrmeciinae-stub