Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus spider ants scurry to carry brood to safety after the photographer uncovers their nest. Harrietville, Victoria, Australia - Alex Wild Photography - Insect Photography

Australian Ants

The wayward southern continent of Australia is famous for the strange and relictual creatures that have evolved in nearly complete isolation. The ants are no exception. Australia's ant fauna is both diverse and exceptionally abundant, with a host of species found nowhere else.

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Leptomyrmex rufipes. A spider ant worker, gaster raised characteristically above her body.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

An absconding Leptomyrmex darlingtoni worker climbs a small bush with a larva after the photographer has disturbed her nest at the base of the bush. A number of ant species display this absconding behavior upon nest disturbance, possibly as a defense against attacks by subterranean army ants.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus spider ants scurry to carry brood to safety after the photographer uncovers their nest.

Harrietville, Victoria, Australia

A Leptomyrmex rufipes forager grasps the wing of a grasshopper carcass to drag it back to her nest. Ants are important scavengers in terrestrial ecosystems.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Portrait of a Leptomyrmex ruficeps spider ant, so named for her physical resemblance to leggy arachnids.

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

Leptomyrmex rufipes workers cooperate to bring a grasshopper carcass back to their nest.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Leptomyrmex unicolor

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

A Leptomyrmex darlingtoni spider ant climbs a small bush with a larva after the photographer has disturbed her nest. The greatly distended gaster indicates that this ant is a replete who functions within the nest as a living storage chamber for liquids.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus spider ants scurry to carry brood to safety after the photographer uncovers their nest.

Harrietville, Victoria, Australia

Canon EOS 7D |

More details: exif |

Original size: 4364x2910 |

Current: 800x534 |

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Keywords: larvae leptomyrmex ant nest spider ants ant brood

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Australian Ants

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