Alex WildIt's that time of the year when the rotting Halloween pumpkins start delivering tremendous bug content.
I got these shots of Pheidole dentata ants successfully hunting fruit fly adults and larvae in the muck.
gergA female (gyne) big-headed ant, Pheidole sp. Having just mated and pulled off her own wings, she'll go on to start a new colony, using her now-useless wing muscles as a source of nutrients to raise the first generation.
#macro #nature #insect #ants #bigheadedants #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
#macro #nature #insect #ants #bigheadedants #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
A big-headed ant drone, Pheidole sp., standing on the discarded wing of the female he just mated with. This male will die in the next one to two weeks, but the female will go on to live for years.
#macro #nature #insect #ant #bigheadedant #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
#macro #nature #insect #ant #bigheadedant #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
A pair of mating big-headed ants, Pheidole sp.
At first I thought the smaller male was pulling the female's wings off, but actually the female pulled off her own wings. After mating the male will die, and the female will go off to start a new colony, using her now-useless wing muscles as a source of nutrients to raise the first generation who will then forage for food and feed the queen.
#macro #nature #insect #ants #bigheadedants #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
At first I thought the smaller male was pulling the female's wings off, but actually the female pulled off her own wings. After mating the male will die, and the female will go off to start a new colony, using her now-useless wing muscles as a source of nutrients to raise the first generation who will then forage for food and feed the queen.
#macro #nature #insect #ants #bigheadedants #pheidole #insectsofthefediverse
A soldier ant and several regular worker ants in a Pheidole hyatti late winter brood nest. Brackenridge Field Lab, Texas. #ants #Insects #Pheidole
Pheidole bicarinata big-headed ants tend to aphids on the underside of a fern in Indiana Dunes National Park. The ants are supposed to protect the aphids, but they seem to have missed a ladybird beetle larva snacking through the herd.
A peek into a rotting log in the Ecuadorian cloud forest reveals a small nest of tiny, glasslike Pheidole nitella big-headed ants.
The very pretty Pheidole morrisii, a large native big-headed ant from sandy habitats in the southeastern United States. Ants of this genus are dimorphic, with the worker caste divided into regular workers (right) and large soldiers (left).