HELP! Large insect with massive jaws!

HELP! Large  insect with massive JAWS..

ACES pest control received urgent phone call from a builder saying HELP! This massive insect with big jaws crawled out of a hole in a house he was renovating. Please see below. He said it was 5-7cm long and came out of 5cm diameter hole in some Rimu wood.

The insect lacks the hard wing covers of a beetle so that rules out the Longihorn beetle.

It has two sets of wings ( four in total), which means it could be a termite reproductive or an ant reproductive.  Termites reproductive heads are round and the lack the prominent jaws.

It is an ant Queen, a rather large and menacing looking one at that!  Amblyopone australis came to New Zealand from Australia in the 1800s. In the days when ships used earth as ballast, some Australian earth with these ants was used in a ship that visited New Zealand. And “viola” we have this  “beauty  queen” flying around.

It doesn’t eat wood, and was in the hole by chance looking for a place to nest. No need to worry it’s a local now and your house isn’t at risk! It just might give you a fright if it pops out of a hole right in front of you!

for more information on ants please click HERE