Kitschy Kitschy Cool - VIDEO! PFN
NEW VIDEO
Ant "tickling" a Spring Azure caterpillar (Celastrina ladon) with her antennae. (M0427)
Skunk's Misery, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
June 11, 2015.
Here's a link to a still photo, taken a few days ago, at Backus Woods, showing the same behaviour as above.
www.flickr.com/photos/74102791@N05/18447995350/
This video shows a different species of Ant, shot at a different location with a different caterpillar I'd just found on Grey Dogwood blossoms.
The Ant is stroking the caterpillar, hoping it will produce a drop of sweet honeydew from its Dorsal Nectary Organ (DNO), a small pore on the caterpillar's back. You should be able to see the DNO in this video.
I shot this footage yesterday afternoon. It's just a short clip--I haven't even looked at the rest of the raw video--only this first "take". :-)
The caterpillar is merrily munching on the Dogwood flower blossoms while the Ant is trying to coax it to produce honeydew.
The background sound is totally live. You might even hear me swatting mosquitoes (they were pretty intense).
Photographs, Text and Videos ©Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature.com (PFN).
All rights reserved. Licensing available.
Contact: Jay@PhotographsFromNature.com
Visit Jay's ALL NEW website at www.PhotographsFromNature.com
Kitschy Kitschy Cool - VIDEO! PFN
NEW VIDEO
Ant "tickling" a Spring Azure caterpillar (Celastrina ladon) with her antennae. (M0427)
Skunk's Misery, Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada.
June 11, 2015.
Here's a link to a still photo, taken a few days ago, at Backus Woods, showing the same behaviour as above.
www.flickr.com/photos/74102791@N05/18447995350/
This video shows a different species of Ant, shot at a different location with a different caterpillar I'd just found on Grey Dogwood blossoms.
The Ant is stroking the caterpillar, hoping it will produce a drop of sweet honeydew from its Dorsal Nectary Organ (DNO), a small pore on the caterpillar's back. You should be able to see the DNO in this video.
I shot this footage yesterday afternoon. It's just a short clip--I haven't even looked at the rest of the raw video--only this first "take". :-)
The caterpillar is merrily munching on the Dogwood flower blossoms while the Ant is trying to coax it to produce honeydew.
The background sound is totally live. You might even hear me swatting mosquitoes (they were pretty intense).
Photographs, Text and Videos ©Jay Cossey, PhotographsFromNature.com (PFN).
All rights reserved. Licensing available.
Contact: Jay@PhotographsFromNature.com
Visit Jay's ALL NEW website at www.PhotographsFromNature.com