A small parasitic wasp (Braconidae: Elasmosoma) hovers over a trail of Formica ants. MacLaughlin U.C. Reserve, California, USA

The most risky phase in the life history of an ant colony is during founding, when young females set off to start new colonies. The vast majority perish at this stage. This queen carpenter ant (Camponotus modoc has been attacked and killed by a fungus, whose white hyphae are seen emerging from the carcass. Sagehen Creek Field Station, California, USA