A golden-haired spiny ant that stood still, Ladang Table, 2015

One worker on a broad leaf in low afternoon sun, Ladang Table, 13 July 2015, 17:07–17:10; not measured; genus Polyrhachis, species not determined

Side view of a black ant on a green leaf in low sun: head and thorax covered in short golden hairs, a round glossy black abdomen, long black legs and long antennae, with a short spine on the waist. — 17:10:00, side view: golden-haired head and thorax, glossy abdomen.

The ant from above on the leaf, facing right: shining black abdomen, thorax, head and jaws, legs spread, with its shadow on the leaf. — 17:08:43, from above.

Close side view of the ant with antennae raised, showing the golden hairs on the head and thorax against the black body. — 17:09:30, antennae raised.

The whole broad pale-green leaf above dry leaf litter, with the small black ant in the middle of it. — 17:07:41, the leaf, first frame (flash).

Photos 1–3 cropped and reduced from the photographer's files, photo 4 reduced whole; nothing else changed. Flash on photo 4 only.

Record — Ladang Table, 2015

Date	Monday 13 July 2015
Time	17:07–17:10, late afternoon, low sun
Place	Ladang Table, Merotai, Tawau, Sabah: the oil palm plantation and the patch of old rubber trees left inside it; the record does not say which of the two
Substrate	The upper side of a broad green leaf, above leaf litter
Behaviour	Stood almost still. The photographer notes that most ants keep moving non-stop; this one stayed on the same leaf through 26 frames over about two and a half minutes
Number	One, a worker
Colour	Abdomen glossy black; head and thorax black under short golden hairs; legs and antennae black
Size	Not measured
Camera	Canon IXUS 145, 26 frames, 17:07:41–17:10:10; flash on the first frame only
Afterwards	Photographed and left where it was
Observer	Wong Fook Yee
iNaturalist	observation 407753265

Identification

Order Hymenoptera · Family Formicidae (ants) · Subfamily Formicinae · Genus Polyrhachis (spiny ants) · species not determined.

One waist node, carrying a short spine in the side views.
Small spines show on the thorax in the view from above.
Abdomen round and glossy black; head and thorax with a coat of short golden hairs.
Long legs and long elbowed antennae.

Genus Polyrhachis was given by identifiers on iNaturalist. Spines on the waist and the thorax separate the spiny ants from Camponotus, which has none. Many black Polyrhachis carry golden hairs, and Borneo has about 98 recorded species in the genus, so the species is left open.

What would move it: a sharp straight side view and a top view of the thorax and waist, showing the number, length and direction of the spines.

Remarks

The same day, the photographer's spider list records a nursery-web spider, Sphedanus, at "TABLE" (spiders of Borneo). That morning, with another camera, he photographed a stalk-eyed fly and a spiny stick insect at Bukit Gemok. Compare the black spiny ant on dead wood, Tawau Hills, September 2015, which has no golden hairs.

Related: Ants of Tawau and Borneo · Fish Hook Ant · Spiny ant on dead wood, 2015 · Old Rubber Plantation, Ladang Table · Two pairs of wings
Photographs © Wong Fook Yee. Place, behaviour and number are the photographer's own; times from the camera; genus from iNaturalist. The original photo files are named "GeorgeMaisTrail_2015"; the place is Ladang Table, as the photographer recorded it. Record page written 12 October 2026.