Myrmecia (ant) encountered before. Based on five species, the median lethal dose (LD) is 0.18–0.35 mg/kg, making it among the most toxic venoms in the insect world. The toxicity of the venom may have evolved due to the intense predation by animals and birds during the day, since "Myrmecia" is primarily diurnal. In Tasmania, 2–3% of the human population is allergic to "M. pilosula" venom. In comparison, only 1.6% people are allergic to the venom of the western honeybee ("Apis mellifera"), and 0.6% to the venom of the European wasp ("Vespula germanica"). In a 2011 Australian ant-venom allergy study, the objective of
Jack jumper ant in his "Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum part VI", under the binomial name "Myrmecia pilosula" from specimens he collected in Hobart in Tasmania. There, Smith described the specimens of a worker, queen and male. The type specimen is located in the British Museum in London. In 1922, American entomologist William Morton Wheeler established the subgenus "Halmamyrmecia" characterised by its jumping behaviour, of which the jack jumper ant was designated as the type species. However, John Clark later synonymised "Halmamyrmecia" under the subgenus "Promyrmecia" in 1927 and placed the ant in the subgenus in 1943.