Army ant soldier (Eciton sp.) with phoretic hister beetle
Found at Ecolodge Itororó reserve, in/near Nova Friburgo municipality in state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon this army ant (Eciton sp.) column that seemed to be in the process of moving their bivouac. Saw some staphylinids/cephaloplectines running along with the ants in the column.
Even more exciting were these little (2-3mm) myrmecophilous hister beetles that were riding upside down under the heads of soldiers running in the column. The beetles must grab onto the mouthparts of the ant. I saw 3 instances of this in the 15-20 minutes I spent watching the column. I was lucky to get some in-focus shots.
Single exposure, uncropped, handheld, in situ. Canon MT-24EX flash unit, Ian McConnachie diffuser.
Army ant soldier (Eciton sp.) with phoretic hister beetle
Found at Ecolodge Itororó reserve, in/near Nova Friburgo municipality in state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil.
I was lucky enough to stumble upon this army ant (Eciton sp.) column that seemed to be in the process of moving their bivouac. Saw some staphylinids/cephaloplectines running along with the ants in the column.
Even more exciting were these little (2-3mm) myrmecophilous hister beetles that were riding upside down under the heads of soldiers running in the column. The beetles must grab onto the mouthparts of the ant. I saw 3 instances of this in the 15-20 minutes I spent watching the column. I was lucky to get some in-focus shots.
Single exposure, uncropped, handheld, in situ. Canon MT-24EX flash unit, Ian McConnachie diffuser.