Overview
Species of Ochetellus nest in open soil or under rocks, in dead wood or arboreally in twigs and branches. Workers forage arboreally or on the ground surface, sometimes forming foraging columns, and feed on a range of small arthropods. They often forage in houses where they show a preference for fluids and sweets. A Japanese species is known to attack wasp nests in dead bamboo stems. While most species are found in forested areas one (O. flavipes) is adapted to the Australian arid zone and nests in spinifex, building tunnels between its nests and foraging areas. Another species, probably O. glaber, has been introduced into New Zealand, Christmas Island, Hawaii and north-central Florida.
This taxon is known from these habitats
The following rows were recorded as a pair from a single record.
Blank entries indicate no information was recorded. |
| Environment/Macrohabitat | Situation/Microhabitat |
| | collected at Brisbane in parcel of woolens |
| | ex Cacao Ptn. |
| | garden, under stone |
| | In grass clippings |
| | in soil under stone |
| | nest in soil under stone |
| Abandoned pasture | foraging in building |
| Abandoned pasture | nest in rotten stump |
| Beach | ex Marram grass |
| Casuarina Nothofagus forest | Ex rtn log |
| Casuarina Nothofagus forest | under bark |
| closed heath | |
| coastal scrub | |
| coastal scrub | in sand |
| coastal scrub | stray foragers on log |
| coastal scrub | under rock |
| coastal shrub | |
| Crown land | |
| Dry schlero. | under stone |
| dry sclerophyll | |
| Dry sclerophyll | foraging column on Eucalyptus trunk |
| Dry sclerophyll | foraging on Ecalyptus trunk |
| dry sclerophyll | foraging on Eucalyptus trunk |
| Dry sclerophyll | ground foragers |
| Dry sclerophyll | Nest in large log on ground |
| Dry sclerophyll | slope |
| Dry sclerophyll | Stray foragers on low vegetation |
| Dry sclerophyll | twig nest, dead twig on live tree |
| eucalypt woodland | |
| eucalypt woodland | stray ground foragers |
| Eucalypt, open woodland | |
| Eucalyptus forest | |
| Eucalyptus open forest | dead branch |
| Forest | |
| grassland | |
| Hillside | Under rock |
| In power box | |
| low scrub | |
| lower vegetation | |
| Malle scrub | |
| Mallee | |
| Mallee | Stray ground foragers |
| Mallee and Triodia on sand | |
| mallee woodland | |
| Meat ant exclusion | |
| medium sclerophyll | |
| open woodland | |
| Pasture | |
| Pasture | nesting in dry logs |
| rainforest | |
| rainforest edge | stray forager on low vegetation |
| Rainforest Gully | under stone |
| Rainforest with Eucalyptus grandis | random foragers, rainforest edge |
| River Red Gum | |
| sclerophyll forest | Random foragers |
| Sclerophyll woodland | foraging column on Eucalyptus trunk |
| Spinifex | |
| Urban garden | ground foragers |
| Urban garden | nest in old stump |
| Vegetated coastal dunes | ground foragers |
| Volcanic soil; Pickard Veg: MhCa | Sieved litter |
| wet coastal scrub | |
| wet sclerophyll | |
| Wet sclerophyll | Foraging column on Eucalyptus trunk |
| wet sclerophyll | Foraging in column on ground. |
| Wet sclerophyll | Nest in rotten branch, 40cm from SOSC 960. branch broken from tree, area containing nests 1.5m above ground. |
| Wet sclerophyll | Nest in same branch as SOSC 1059, 30cm away. |
| wet sclerophyll | Nest in upper areas of rotten log on ground |
| Wet sclerophyll | Nest under bark of dead tree on ground |
| Wet sclerophyll | Random foragers |
| Wet sclerophyll | Random ground foragers |
| Wet sclerophyll | Small nest in branch (rotten) 75cm above ground. |
| wet sclerophyll | stray foragers on low vegetation |
| Wet sclerophyll forest | under stone |
| Wet sclerophyll, ridge above and E of Waterfall Ck | Nest in soil |