 Under the present classification , Myrmecia is the only extant genus in the tribe Myrmeciini , subfamily Myrmeciinae . It is a member of the family Formicidae , belonging to the order Hymenoptera . The type species for the genus is M. gulosa , discovered by Joseph Banks in 1770 during his expedition with James Cook on the HMS Endeavour . M. gulosa is among the earliest Australian insects to be described , and the specimen Banks collected is housed in the Joseph Banks Collection in the Natural History Museum in London . M. gulosa was described by Fabricius in 1775 under the name Formica gulosa and later designated as the type species of Myrmecia in 1840 . 
