Meat ant of the colony may deteriorate from overshadowing. Members of an affected meat ant colony later move to a nearby satellite nest that is placed in a suitable area, while invading banded sugar ants fill nest galleries up with a black resinous material. Meat ants sometimes attract cats because of the chemicals they secrete (dihydronepetalactone, isodihydronepetalactone and iridomyrmecin). Meat ants are generally intolerant of myrmecophiles (which are insects or other organisms that share positive interspecies associations with ants) living in their colonies, but "Cyclotorna" larvae are known to dwell in colonies. Although "Sphallomorpha" larvae sometimes prey on workers as discussed earlier,
Meat ant of active mounds declined, but this effect was only temporary. This is due to colonies only having of bait which was insufficient to eliminate further nests, but the effect may have been more dramatic if extra bait was used. Meat ant The meat ant ("Iridomyrmex purpureus"), also known as the gravel ant or southern meat ant, is a species of ant endemic to Australia. A member of the genus "Iridomyrmex" in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, it was described by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858. The meat ant is associated with many common names due to its appearance, nest-building behaviour and