Aphaenogaster longiceps

Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia
Aphaenogaster carolinensis

Croatan National Forest, North Carolina, USA
A laboratory nest of Aphaenogaster rudis.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
Aphaenogaster mariae workers recruit to honey smeared across a tree trunk as bait.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
Aphaenogaster mariae thread-waisted ant. Ants of this genus often place debris on liquid food (in this case, honey) as a sort of sponge. Once the food has been absorbed, the workers pick up the "sponge" and carry it back to the nest.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
Aphaenogaster mariae workers recruit to honey smeared across a tree trunk as bait.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
On the underside of a sun-soaked leaf, Aphaenogaster tennesseensis tending to Entylia sp. treehoppers.  The treehoppers secrete sweet honeydew for the ants in exchange for protections from parasites and predators.

Lake Glendale, Illinois, USA
On the underside of a sun-soaked leaf, Aphaenogaster tennesseensis tending to Entylia sp. treehoppers.  The treehoppers secrete sweet honeydew for the ants in exchange for protections from parasites and predators.

Lake Glendale, Illinois, USA
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis tending to Entylia sp. treehoppers.  The treehoppers secrete sweet honeydew for the ants in exchange for protections from parasites and predators.

Lake Glendale, Illinois, USA
A laboratory nest of Aphaenogaster rudis.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
A laboratory nest of Aphaenogaster rudis.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
A laboratory nest of Aphaenogaster rudis.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
See photo in original gallery.
all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013