A Stictoponera menadensis (subfamily Ectatomminae) worker foraging in the leaf litter at Danum Valley, Sabah, plus another specimen on white background.
Colonies of this species often lack queens. Instead, unlike in most ants, workers can mate and take over egg laying as so-called “gamergates”.
How fun! I was invited to write a "Species Spotlight" for Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com and I chose my favorite species the Florida turtle ant Cephalotes varians! rdcu.be/e5EZK Including a stunning photo of ants I collected by @alexwild.bsky.social
Portraits of the Dolichoderus colony members inhabiting the epiphytic myrmecophyte (ant plant) in Danum Valley, Borneo:
A queen, a worker, and a male.
Six stout dark-colored ants stand facing in random directions on an orange-red substrate, in top view. The ants’ butts are shaped like pointy hearts.
A few tropical acrobat ants taking nectar from a Heliconia flower. Minca, Colombia.
Macro photo of a shiny, light orange ant with a large head and black eyes, standing on a green leaf in side view.
The beautiful Camponotus kaura is a night-active ant endemic to the eastern Caribbean. El Yunque, Puerto Rico.
This is…not an ant. It’s the ant-mimicking nymph of a true bug (Heteroptera). Check out the long proboscis, which the bug has inserted into a leaf to suck phloem sap. Proof once again that everything wants to be an ant. Sabah, Borneo.
Here is another ant-mimicking spider from Sabah, this time from Danum Valley. This is a jumping spider in the subtribe Myrmarachnina, literally meaning “ant spiders”. Constrictions of the cephalothorax and opisthosoma give it the appearance of an ant with a separate head and “wasp waist”.
In the Myrmicaria ant garden, I made a serendipitous discovery: an ant-mimicking spider in the genus Serendib (possibly S. volans?), which I hadn’t seen before. The first image shows a Myrmicaria worker on the carton nest for comparison. The second image shows the spider. Tambunan, Sabah.
In Asian rainforests, several ant species in the genera Camponotus, Crematogaster, Diacamma, Pheidole and Philidris construct ant gardens by cultivating epiphytic plants in arboreal carton nests. This image shows such an ant garden in Tambunan, Sabah.
OK, one more Leptogenys from Danum Valley before we move on to other ants, just to show off the diversity of this genus. These ants are from a large (many hundred if not thousands of workers) colony I found in and under a rotting log. I don’t know which species this is - suggestions are welcome.
Leptogenys diminuta is another species with army ant-like behavior. Colonies are smaller though, measuring only a few hundred workers. The ants are nomadic and hunt in columns. Sabah, Borneo.
Macro photograph in side view of an elongate, short-legged ant with a dull, reddish brown sculpture. The ant's eyes are barely visible spots just above the mandibles, and the ant is carrying a large, pale larva.
Sneaking around the world in plant pots, soil, and other shipments, the granulate crypt ant Hypoponera opaciceps is native to South America but is now found broadly across North America and Pacific islands.
Like their doryline counterparts, Leptogenys army ants host diverse communities of guest insects. Here are two of these myrmecophiles, a silverfish (possibly Malayatelura ponerophila) and a featherwing beetle (ptiliidae), both hitching a ride on pupae that the ants carry. Danum Valley, Sabah.
Another swarm-raiding Leptogenys from Danum Valley. Like any proper army ant, these guys are nomadic, and here they are during a colony relocation. Unlike in phasic army ants, the colony contains offspring at widely different developmental stages, from larvae and pupae to young adults.
Macro photograph of a red ant in side view with a rather swollen, round head, standing on a white background.
These Florida harvester ant major workers never looked real to me. Just a ridiculously large head tacked on to a regular harvester ant body. Archbold Biological Station, Florida.
A razorjaw ant (genus Leptogenys) from Danum Valley, Sabah. Same species I posted yesterday. Leptogenys is the most species-rich ponerine genus. Most species have small colonies and are specialist predators, but some, like this one, have evolved massive colonies and a generalist diet.
Among the ants I most wanted to see during my recent trip to Borneo were swarm-raiding ponerine army ants in the genus Leptogenys. Just like swarm-raiding army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae, these species have a generalist diet. Here they are subduing a whip scorpion, or vinegaroon. Danum Valley.
Macro photograph in side vide of a slender, silky black ant with blood red legs and a gleaming golden gaster walking on tan-colored soil.
Australian Camponotus sugar ants are a lot more variable than our North American species. Here's Camponotus suffusus, from Victoria.
Macro photograph of three orange ants around a round hole in the ground, two of the ants carrying sand out of the hole with their mouths. Next to the hole, slightly out of focus at the back, is a single small plant with four oval leaves.
Whenever I see this photo of harvester ants working on their nest, I think how it looks like they planted a decorative tree by their door like they have an HOA or something.
(Pogonomyrmex desertorum, west Texas)
Macro photo of several velvety black ants running along a stick, with one similarly sized and textured bug among them.
I didn't notice that I'd photographed this weird ant-mimicking bug running with a column of Anonychomyrma ants until I was processing the photos. I can't find any research on this, either.
(Photo from Wilson's Prom, Victoria, the southernmost point of continental Australia).
Macro photograph inside an underground ant nest chamber, where a robust, heavily pitted metallic purple and green ant in side view lifts a tan pillow-like cocoon.
One of Australia's most common and distinctive ants is the colorful Rhytidoponera metallica, seen here with silken cocoons in the brood nest. Diamond Creek, Victoria.
Macro photograph in side view of a large, wasplike black ant with bulging eyes, long thin jaws, red legs, and a golden gaster crouching and looking up at the camera.
Was surprised to find a new-to-me jack jumper species, Myrmecia fulvipes, in a small park I’ve been visiting for 20 years. The ant looks nearly as surprised as me!
Algunos parecidos son realmente impresionANTes...
🐜Ants in a teapot!!!
Our researchers documented Camponotus nicobarensis escaping a home formicarium and nesting in ceramic teapots, raising brood successfully. A striking example of ant adaptability and a warning about risks linked to exotic ant trade. 🔗https://shorturl.at/NruKr
#Ants #AnimalTrade
Hovering battles at the ant nest: the remarkable behavior of a rare ant parasitoid wasp ⚔️
In this blog, Satsuki shares her discovery of fights between female wasps competing for access to ant larvae.
insectessociaux.com/2025/12/27/h...
#InsectesSociaux #Entomology #ParasitoidWasps #AnimalBehavior
¡La Asociación Ibérica de Mirmecología os desea una Feliz Navidad y un próspero 2026!
Y todavía existen personas que piensan que solo hay tres especies de #hormigas: las negras, las rojas y las amarillas...
Trump cards game showing an image of a social insect and biological information
Got my hands on this amazing social insects trump card game, developed by @elvarobinson.bsky.social & her team to support inclusion bursaries for IUSSI conferences. It even has my favourite bee 😍🐝!
If you want your own, for fun, outreach or teaching: www.iussi-nweurope.org/edi
#hormigas arañas las suelen llamar... Una pasada el género Leptomyrmex.
