Metamorphosis & Ant Brood - # - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography - Insect Pictures

Metamorphosis

Images from the life cycle of developing ants.

gallery pages: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

< 10 of 71 >

The brood nest of Adetomyrma goblin dracula ants.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

An Adetomyrma goblin worker carries a larva.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

A feeding frenzy in an Adetomyrma goblin colony. A paradox of ant biology is that adult ants cannot consume solid food, while the larvae can. Larvae are essential for colony nutrition, more than just future adults, digesting proteinaceous food and passing it on in liquid form to the adults.

Most ant species have evolved a simple mechanism for the transfer of liquid food by regurgitation (trophallaxis), but a few truly ancient lineages of ants, including the Adetomyrma pictured here, predate trophallaxis. Instead, the adults chew holes in the larval skins and drink the hemolymph directly. Larvae are apparently unharmed by the procedure, although the practice has earned these insects the common name "dracula ants".

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

The long necks of Adetomyrma larvae provide great flexibility for reaching the tasty innards of prey insects that the adults bring back to the nest.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

Amblyopone australis, cocoons and adults in the brood nest. Many species in the ancient ant subfamily Amblyoponinae have the characteristically yellow cocoons.

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Anochetus paripungens, worker trap-jaw ant with pupa. The yellow color of the silken cocoon is typical for ants in the subfamily Ponerinae.

Northern Territory, Australia

Arnoldius sp. with larvae in the brood nest.

Adelaide, South Australia

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis with eggs and young larvae. The difference in color between the two adult ants is due to their age, as ants darken over time.

Urbana, Illinois, USA

Metamorphosis in Aphaenogaster picea.

South Bristol, New York, USA

The brood nest of Adetomyrma goblin dracula ants.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

The brood nest of Adetomyrma goblin dracula ants.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

The brood nest of Adetomyrma goblin dracula ants.

Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences

Canon EOS 20D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 3504x2332 |

Current: 800x533 |

Share photo: links, forums, blogs |

Keywords: ants insect insects dracula larvae madagascar hymenoptera metamorphosis formicidae amblyoponinae myrmecology adetomyrma

gallery pages: < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

< 10 of 71 >

Comments

|

all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013

Available Feeds

Gallery Photos:

Atom |

RSS