Myrmecologists often start new laboratory colonies from young mated queens. These Solenopsis molesta thief ant queens were collected after a midsummer mating flight and are now raising their first brood. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA

A key innovation in ant evolution is the metapleural gland, seen here as a pair of openings in the body just above the hind legs. The gland is present in nearly all ants and is thought to play an antibiotic role. (Anochetus faurei, South Africa).

Myrmecologists at Ant Course 2012 collect alate males and queens at a mercury vapor lamp. Kibale forest, Uganda