''Iridomyrmex omalonotus'' is a species of ant in the genus ''

Iridomyrmex ''Iridomyrmex'' is a genus of ants called rainbow ants (referring to their blue-green iridescent sheen) first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicida ...

''. Described by Heterick and Shattuck in 2011, the ant is endemic to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and the ants are known for its attraction to honey, and attends to lycaenid caterpillars and other Hemiptera that produces honey.

Etymology

The name is said to be derived from Greek ''omalus'', 'flat' and Latin ''notus'', 'back', in reference to the appearance of a worker's propodeum. The proper ancient Greek word for "flat" is however ''homalos'' (ὁμαλός) or ''homalēs'' (ὁμαλής).Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press.

References

Iridomyrmex Hymenoptera of Australia Insects described in 2011 {{Iridomyrmex-stub