I admit, this one has me stumped. This alate has three-segmented clubbed antennae.
She’s 5 mm long.
I’ve keyed her out as Monomorium.
Anyone have any ideas?
Dracula Ants Video
If you wonder what dracula ants look like, I just found this video.
Forelius Ants on the Move
Sometimes it is hard to conceive how much ants move their colonies around. For example, this week a fairly large Forelius colony showed up in our yard.
Forelius are incredibly fast.
They do slow down when they find something interesting, like this dead honey bee.
What is on the honey bee’s wing? It had just rained so there’s water condensation.
I guess it could be refraction, but it looks almost like paint.
We also found the little ants will slow down for honey. Talk about exploding ants 🙂
I hope these stay for awhile.
Any ants on the move in your area?
Surprise! Camponotus festinatus
It finally rained in Arizona. But last week, before it rained, I chased out a bunch of Camponotus festinatus by watering the front yard with a hose.
Cool, there are males with the workers.
Males are usually dark colored, so it was interesting to see golden yellow ones.
In my haste to get a few photographs. I didn’t really notice the other ants around the males.
Like that really big soldier. What’s up with her?
Once I was back inside and the ants had retreated I downloaded the photographs and took a look. Hum, wing-scars on the alitrunk.
Blame it on the heat…
For more about Camponotus festinatus, see this previous post.
Have you ever missed the obvious while shooting photographs?