Male leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex versicolor) lek above the desert floor, awaiting virgin queens who fly into the swarm to mate. Tucson, Arizona, USA - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Mating & Colony Founding

gallery pages: 1 2 3 4 >

< 6 of 34 >

After mating, a young leafcutter ant queen sheds her wings. Acromyrmex versicolor.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A young leafcutter ant queen (Acromyrmex versicolor) with her eggs and incipient fungus garden.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Male leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex versicolor) lek above the desert floor, awaiting virgin queens who fly into the swarm to mate. This species flies during the Arizona summer monsoon season, early in the morning after a soaking rain.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A queen leafcutter ant (Acromyrmex versicolor) falls to the ground surrounded by multiple males attempting to mate with her. Leafcutter females typically mate with many males.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

A mating ball of Acromyrmex versicolor leaf-cutter ants. These are formed after a young, unmated queen flies to a swarm of male ants and drops to the ground surrounded by potential mates.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Male leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex versicolor) lek above the desert floor, awaiting virgin queens who fly into the swarm to mate.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Lit by the rising sun, a mating swarm of Acromyrmex versicolor leafcutters rises above the desert floor.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Harvester ants (Aphaenogaster cockerelli) tear apart a queen leafcutter ant (Acromyrmex versicolor) they have caught after a leafcutter mating flight. Ants won't often eat members of their own species, but they will happily consume ants of other species.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Mating Acropyga epedana ants, the queen carrying a mealybug in her mandibles. Acropyga live nearly entirely by consuming secretions of root-feeding mealybugs, and the mealybugs depend on the ants for dispersal and protection. When young queen ants leave the nest to mate and start new colonies, they take a mealybug with them.

Portal, Arizona, USA

Male leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex versicolor) lek above the desert floor, awaiting virgin queens who fly into the swarm to mate.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Canon EOS 20D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3353x2312 |

Current: 800x552 |

Share photo: links, forums, blogs |

gallery pages: 1 2 3 4 >

< 6 of 34 >

Mating & Colony Founding

Comments