Podomyrma adelaidae

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae worker foraging on a tree branch.

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
Podomyrma sp.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia
Podomyrma gratiosa fighting with Crematogaster.

Naracoorte, South Australia
A Podomyrma gratiosa worker forages on a tree trunk.  These large ants are almost exclusively arboreal, and their swollen legs contain muscles to help them grip the bark firmly.

Naracoorte, South Australia
Podomyrma gastralis, found in New Guinea and Northern Australia, is a large, brightly colored arboreal ant.

Iron Range National Park, Queensland, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae tends to a Lycaenid caterpillar.  These caterpillars secrete substances that the ants find attractive, and the ants in turn provide protection from parasites.

Poochera, South Australia
Podomyrma sp.

Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
Podomyrma adelaidae

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
See photo in original gallery.
all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013