Acropyga acutiventris

Root aphid ant. Small eyes, a compact body, and yellow coloration are traits typical of subterranean ants. Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

Acropyga acutiventris

Acropyga are tropical ants that tend herds of root sap-feeding mealybugs. Iron Range National Park, Queensland, Australia

Aenictus aratus

A raid of Aenictus aratus in an Australian rain forest. Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia

Amblyopone australis

Amblyopone australis dracula ants are subterranean predators. Here they are seen attacking a moth larva. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Amblyopone australis

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Amblyopone longidens

The sculptured head and relatively long teeth diagnose this ant as Amblyopone longidens. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia.

Anonychomyrma scrutator

Anonychomyrma scrutator worker foraging in the leaf litter of an Australian rain forest. Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Portrait of an Anonychomyrma worker ant. Harrietville, Victoria, Australia

Anoplolepis gracilipes

A yellow crazy ant with worker cocoons in the brood nest. Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Aphaenogaster longiceps

Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia

Aphaenogaster longiceps

A nest maintenance worker carries soil excavated from deep within the nest. Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia

Arnoldius sp. Adelaide, South Australia

A Calomyrmex albertisi worker forages along the forest floor. Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Calomyrmex laevissimus

A colorful Calomyrmex laevissimus worker forages along a leaf in an Australian rainforest. Mungkan Kandju National Park, Queensland, Australia

Camponotus aeneopilosus

Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Camponotus ephippium

Many ant colonies keep guards posted at their nest entrances. This Camponotus ephippium ant's head is nearly the same size as the nest entrance, forming a plug that she will only move to let her nestmates come and go. Victoria, Australia

Camponotus innexus

Yarra Ranges National Park, Victoria, Australia.

Camponotus consobrinus

Camponotus consobrinus, the banded sugar ant, so-named for the yellow "belt" across its waist. Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia

Camponotus nigriceps

Camponotus nigriceps, the black-headed sugar ant, is a common night-active ant species in Australia. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Camponotus nigriceps

Nestmate transport in Camponotus nigriceps sugar ants. It is thought that ant colonies conserve energy by having one worker do the walking for two. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia.

Camponotus sp.

Large ant workers are often thought of as a defensive caste, but the true role of these "majors" varies among species. In some, like this Camponotus, they serve as living storage containers. Note the enlarged abdomen of the major worker in this photo. Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia.

Camponotus novaehollandiae

Northern sugar ant. Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia

Camponotus gouldianus

Poochera, South Australia

Colobopsis gasseri

Adelaide, South Australia