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Western Thatching Ant (Formica obscuripes)
Mill Hill Regional Park, Langford, BC
I found two widely separated nests of these ants, both boiling with activity. What the ants are doing is a mystery. They weren't carrying anything, neither nest seemed to have be disturbed, and they weren't maintaining the nests. There was just a seething mass of ants running around on and near the nests, bumping into and climbing over each other, seemingly to no purpose. Since it was happening at both nests, I assume there actually was some method to this madness, but I can't imagine what it might be.
the crimson gate
of the ant palace opens:
it's a peony
a red peony
the gate of the ant kingdom
opens wide
~ Yosa Buson, Japanese haiku master and painter (1716-1783).
Black ant Lasius niger lapping up sugar solution. Interesting how the abdominal segments have expanded
An ant-mimic jumping spider (Myrmarachne sp.) in my backyard. This was the first time I've seen one of these, and luckily I had the camera and macro lens with me!
These little black ants were living everywhere. Here I disturbed them when I moved the rotting branch they were enjoying, but they were living in the rubber tree as if it were a condo. Every 5th branch or so there would be about 50 ants. The branches have a hollow spot at the base that makes them easy to pull off and easy for the ants to live in.
Nikon D200 - Micro-Nikkor 55mm 1:3.5 + PK-13 extension tube + TC-200 Teleconverter
1/200 sec - f/22 - ISO 400 - SB-600 Speedlight off-camera left with diffuser
Many of the trees had little tunnels running up and down them, right to the top ... and there were ants, which appeared to be using these tunnels ...
The Mayan ruins of Xaman-Ha, Playacar, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
There are several of these small pyramids in the jungle along the road leading from Playa del Carmen to Playacar.
A fire-ant hill is formed against a neighborhood fence. I am not sure how big the hill is on the other side of the fence... but thought I would put a 'warning' to passerbys that there are Ants. :-}
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 out of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified.
Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies which may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. These larger colonies consist mostly of sterile wingless females forming castes of "workers", "soldiers", or other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens". The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony.
Ants communicate with each other using pheromones. Like other insects, ants perceive smells with their long, thin and mobile antennae. The paired antennae provide information about the direction and intensity of scents. Since most ants live on the ground, they use the soil surface to leave pheromone trails that can be followed by other ants. In species that forage in groups, a forager that finds food marks a trail on the way back to the colony; this trail is followed by other ants, these ants then reinforce the trail when they head back with food to the colony. When the food source is exhausted, no new trails are marked by returning ants and the scent slowly dissipates.
Ants use pheromones for more than just making trails. A crushed ant emits an alarm pheromone that sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy and attracts more ants from further away. Several ant species even use "propaganda pheromones" to confuse enemy ants and make them fight among themselves.
Ants perform many ecological roles that are beneficial to humans, including the suppression of pest populations and aeration of the soil.
The use of weaver ants in citrus cultivation in southern China is considered one of the oldest known applications of biological control.
On the other hand, ants can become nuisances when they invade buildings, or cause economic losses.
After the ants have been left to soak in the baijiu, thus enriching its flavour, we separate off the ants, leaving a lovely coloured concoction of baijiu, ant juice and some ant legs! Down the hatch! One of the more interesting shots I have had!
This Ant Plant (Myrmecodium sp.) has been cut open to show the chambers that harbor ants inside its swollen stem. The ants provide the plant with nutrients in the form of their waste. The plant grows on trees in the Asian rainforest. Photographed at Selby Garden.
Ant holds a cup of tea in her hands. Ant is recovering from post Appendicitis surgery in Mount Alvernia Hospital in Singapore.
In the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula you find huge ants nests built with mud on top of trees.
Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico
2010-07-vacation2 298
A ant with some Parmasan cheese @ Montepulciano
Parmesan cheese is the name of a few kinds of Italian extra-hard cheeses. It is usually the cheese to go with Spaghetti and other typical Italian pasta, but it also has many other uses. Parmesan is a part of Italian national cuisine and is usually grated.
Usually, Parmesan cheese is either Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese. Both cheeses are AOC. This means that the way they are made, and the region they come form are strictly regulated.
Only these brands (Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano) are protected. In many parts of the world, cheese is sold as Parmesan cheese that has nothing to do with the true (Italian) Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano. The biggest producers of such cheeses are the United States and Argentina.
In primary school, I've learned about ants shepherding aphids. Today, I saw two ants actually doing that...