Alex Wild

Thanks to the field collection efforts of bug guys Steven Wang and Brandon Woo, I had an opportunity this weekend to photograph one of the world's more oddly-proportioned ants, the major worker of Pheidole absurda. This is a granivorous big-headed ant found from Texas south to Costa Rica, and the massive head powers seed-crunching jaws.

#Ants #Pheidole #Insects

Sep 4, 2023 at 3:57pmWeb
Show threadAlex WildSep 4, 2023
Only a few of the ants in Pheidole absurda colonies are so...um, absurd. Most workers look like normal little ants.
Show threadAlex WildSep 4, 2023
Anyway, what an oddball. I had seen them before, but this was the first time I'd photographed them.
Show threadThomasSep 4, 2023

@alexwild

Looks like a wrecking ant!

Reminds me of a hydraulic wrecking machine, ready to tear down a concrete building.

Show threadCynSep 4, 2023
@alexwild Wow look at those mandibles!
Show threaddonkey herder, fowl friendSep 4, 2023
@alexwild @Hesperalis “this is my little sister. tell me again what you said to her. say it slowly.”
Show threadAlbert CardonaSep 4, 2023
@alexwild What an apt species name: P. absurda. Some ants grow large bellies to act as living lards (honeypot ants), others like this grow large heads to crush seeds. Makes sense, fits within the evolutionary adjacent possible.
Show threadAlex WildSep 4, 2023

@albertcardona

For a while, our Texas populations went under the name Pheidole ridicula, but that was synonymized under absurda. I still feel a little sad about that.

Show threadMx. Luna Corbden 🐸Sep 4, 2023
@alexwild Not sure if @futurebird has seen this?