Camponotus rufipes workers are quick to defend their nests. Here, a worker digs into my finger.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Formica subsericea tending aphids for honeydew.

Gray Summit, Missouri, USA
Formica rubicunda slave-raiding ant.

Gray Summit, Missouri, USA
Formica glacialis

South Bristol, New York, USA
Formica obscuriventris

South Bristol, New York, USA
Formica obscuriventris

South Bristol, New York, USA
Formica obscuripes mound ants gather honeydew from aphids.

Sagehen Creek, California, USA
Formica gnava foraging worker carrying a bark louse it has caught.

Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA
Formica integroides workers tending pine aphids.  The ants obtain a large portion of their energy from symbiotic relationships with hemipterans such as these aphids.

Sagehen Creek, California, USA
Camponotus rufipes workers are quick to defend their nests. Here, a worker digs into my finger.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Camponotus rufipes workers are quick to defend their nests. Here, a worker digs into my finger.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Camponotus rufipes workers are quick to defend their nests. Here, a worker digs into my finger.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
See photo in original gallery.
all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013