Spoils of War

Orange Army Ant (Eciton hamatum) & Ectatomma tuberculatum - Cordillera Escalera Conservation Area, Peru

 

Its a rough world out there, the Ectatomma ant being transported hasn't even started its adult life and already its being transported away by a raiding party of orange army ants (Eciton hamatum). At this point its fate is sealed and its not pretty, for Eciton hamatum feeds on other insects specifically other social insects like ants, bees, and wasps. This subadult Ectatomma ant who had come so close to adulthood will likely be taken to a nearby location and dismembered into more manageable pieces and carried back to the bivouac (moving army ant nest) for consumption. The orange army ants had raided a nearby Ectatomma nest and were carrying their spoils home, they were crossing over a dry streambed on some sticks that provided a nice natural bridge for them and this is where I set up camp. Photographing such quick little insects at extreme magnification presents a lot of challenges but luckily I had lots of opportunities as these ants just kept streaming by, lots of failed shots but some keepers resulted as well.

Done