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Ouch! A dracula ant (Stigmatomma oregonensis) sinks her sting deep into the head capsule of a centipede. Quincy, California, USA
Inside the brood nest of the specialist centipede predator Stigmatomma oregonensis. Note the larvae feeding on a centipede carcass at left. Quincy, California, USA
Stigmatomma oregonensis is a specialist predator of geophilomorph centipedes. Here, a worker ant carries a centipede it has paralyzed back to her nest. Quincy, California, USA
Adult Stigmatomma cannot eat solid food and are incapable of the trophallaxis behavior that allows most other ant species to share food among nestmates. Instead, they have developed a novel way to feed themselves: consuming the hemolymph of nestmate larvae. Ants puncture vulnerable spots in the larval skin- as the ant in the center demonstrates- and lap up the drops of hemolymph. (Stigmatomma oregonensis) Quincy, California, USA
Ouch! A dracula ant (Stigmatomma oregonensis) sinks her sting deep into the head capsule of a centipede. Quincy, California, USA
Stigmatomma oregonensis. Many of the most ancient lineages of ants show little size difference between queens and workers. Here, a queen sits atop a pile of brood in a laboratory nest; the other individuals are workers. Quincy, California, USA
Stigmatomma oregonensis is a specialist predator of geophilomorph centipedes. Here, two workers attempt to sting the front end of a centipede while the back end pulls them across the substrate. Quincy, California, USA
Stigmatomma oregonensis queen in mate-calling posture, in a laboratory nest. She extrudes her sting to release pheromones. Quincy, California, USA
Stigmatomma oregonensis queen in mate-calling posture, in a laboratory nest. She extrudes her sting to release pheromones. Quincy, California, USA
Ouch! A dracula ant (Stigmatomma oregonensis) sinks her sting deep into the head capsule of a centipede.

Quincy, California, USA
Ouch! A dracula ant (Stigmatomma oregonensis) sinks her sting deep into the head capsule of a centipede. Quincy, California, USA
Ouch! A dracula ant (Stigmatomma oregonensis) sinks her sting deep into the head capsule of a centipede.

Quincy, California, USA
See photo in original gallery.
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all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013