Cleaning Crew - _TNY_1445
The common red ant (Myrmica rubra) is sometime erroneously known as the European fire ant even though it isn't a fire ant.
These (or some related species) have managed to infiltrate the Haga Ocean butterfly house and now fill the niche of cleaning up the remains of all the butterflies that die there.
It of course isn't entirely beneficial. The ants manage to mess with the resting butterflies as well, but the big rack with all the chrysalises and coccoons has been built on two pillars in a sort-of moat which makes it inaccessible to the ants.
Here it is a banded blue morho (Morpho achilles) which has kicked the bucked and become swarmed by a mass of ants.
For an older shot of a different species of butterfly that ended up the same way, have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/47682551652/
Cleaning Crew - _TNY_1445
The common red ant (Myrmica rubra) is sometime erroneously known as the European fire ant even though it isn't a fire ant.
These (or some related species) have managed to infiltrate the Haga Ocean butterfly house and now fill the niche of cleaning up the remains of all the butterflies that die there.
It of course isn't entirely beneficial. The ants manage to mess with the resting butterflies as well, but the big rack with all the chrysalises and coccoons has been built on two pillars in a sort-of moat which makes it inaccessible to the ants.
Here it is a banded blue morho (Morpho achilles) which has kicked the bucked and become swarmed by a mass of ants.
For an older shot of a different species of butterfly that ended up the same way, have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/47682551652/