Pogonomyrmex badius, the Florida harvester ant. Here, nest maintenance workers are busy removing soil they have excavated from deep in the nest. Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Worker Ants

Images of the female non-reproductive caste.

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One of the strangest recorded ant phenomena is a hybrid zone between two species of harvester ants in the western United States. Pogonomyrmex rugosus and Pogonomyrmex barbatus apparently hybridized in the ancient past, leading to a pair of genetically complex daughter lineages that continually need to cross with each other in order to make worker ants. The queens and males remain genetically separate. Young queens need to mate with their own species, to produce more queens and males, and with the other species, to produce workers.

This image shows a hybrid worker leaving the nest.

Portal, Arizona, USA

Pogonomyrmex rugosus, harvester ant worker cutting grass seeds off the stalk.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Pogonomyrmex micans

Frías, Santiago de Estero, Argentina

Pogonomyrmex californicus, the California harvester ant, standing guard at the nest entrance.

Mojave National Preserve, California, USA

Pogonomyrmex desertorum harvesting seeds from a grass stalk.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Pogonomyrmex maricopa harvester ants inspect a mesquite seed.

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Pogonomyrmex badius, the Florida harvester ant

Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA

Three female morphological castes in the Florida harvester ant Pogonomyrmex badius: queen (left), major worker (top), and minor worker (bottom).

Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA

Pogonomyrmex badius, the Florida harvester ant. Here, nest maintenance workers are busy removing soil they have excavated from deep in the nest.

Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA

Canon EOS 50D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 4752x3168 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: ants insect insects colony hymenoptera formicidae myrmicinae harvester ants pogonomyrmex worker ants social insects ants working nest excavation pogonomyrmex badius florida harvester ant nests ant colony

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Worker Ants

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