Camponotus habereri

A Taiwan endemic living in primary forest, with alternating black and cream bands on the gaster and an orange-brown body. It moves very fast and, being large and ranging far to forage, escapes danger by half-jumping and dropping away. In northern Taiwan it is a common, dominant species. It was discovered and named by the Japanese in 1911, when little was understood about formic acid, and was labelled the "stinking carpenter ant" on smell alone. In fact most ants release formic acid only when they need to attack or defend themselves, so it is a shame that such a beautifully patterned species was named "stinking".