Ant colonies usually start small. Here a young bull ant queen (Myrmecia pyriformis) tends to a larva in her incipient nest. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia
A young huntress ant female climbs vegetation on the morning of her spring mating flight. Austin, Texas, USA.
A foundress trap-jaw ant queen with her first eggs and larvae nesting in a rock crevice in a Belizean rainforest. Armenia, Cayo District, Belize.