These are good-sized ants, not as big as Bull Ants, but larger than Jack Jumpers. They are distinctive, shiny black with very large abdomens. On any given day I can find one or two of them hanging around the outside of the house. I've wondered if they are actually queen ants looking for a place to burrow - esp. since whenever I see them near each other, they invariably go to war, as the two in the photo above were definitely doing. At times I've found a dozen or more dead on the balcony or deck just outside the windows - apparent remains of some dreadful nighttime ant war.
Unlike the Bull Ants (which I've never found inside the house... at least not yet...) occasionally one of these will find its way inside. But only one at a time, and only every so often.
I'm very curious to find out what they are, and so started looking online for ant identification websites. I found a particularly helpful one here: http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_ants/ with lots of photos of different species.
The ones I'm finding resemble the "Dome-back Spiny Ant" and the "Rattle Ant", but those ants are supposedly about 6-7mm, and the ones I'm finding are well over half an inch, so I'm still researching.
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