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A Paraponera clavata bullet ant worker carries a droplet of water between her mandibles. Misahaullí, Napo, Ecuador
Harpegnathos ants have evolved elongate mandibles in a rather unusual fashion. Most long-jawed ants (such as this bulldog ant) got their long chops by simply stretching out their mandibles evenly, but Harpegnathos followed a different path. They took a little piece along the front of the mandible near the head and pulled it forward almost as if it were silly putty, leaving the rest more or less intact. The downward-pointing triangle near the base is the remains of the old mandibular tip. Danum Valley Field Centre, Sabah Borneo
Anochetus paripungens trap-jaw ant. Note the trigger hair projecting forward from the head. When the trigger is touched, this ant's jaws slam shut with an audible snap. Northern Territory, Australia
Anochetus paripungens trap-jaw ant. Note the trigger hair projecting forward from the head. When the trigger is touched, this ant's jaws slam shut with an audible snap. Northern Territory, Australia
Close-up with a Camponotus castaneus minor worker. Vermillion River Observatory, Illinois, USA
Nothomyrmecia macrops Poochera, South Australia
Nothomyrmecia macrops. Worker grooming her antennae using a special brush on her foreleg. Ants are meticulously clean animals. Poochera, South Australia
Nothomyrmecia macrops Poochera, South Australia
A Paraponera clavata bullet ant worker carries a droplet of water between her mandibles.

Misahaullí, Napo, Ecuador
A Paraponera clavata bullet ant worker carries a droplet of water between her mandibles. Misahaullí, Napo, Ecuador
A Paraponera clavata bullet ant worker carries a droplet of water between her mandibles.

Misahaullí, Napo, Ecuador
See photo in original gallery.
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all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013