Aphaenogaster carolinensis

Croatan National Forest, North Carolina, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants. Here, an Aphaenogaster fulva disperses a bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seed. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants. Here, Aphaenogaster disperse bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seeds. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants. Here, Aphaenogaster fulva disperse bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seeds. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants. Here, Aphaenogaster fulva disperse bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seeds. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants. Here, an Aphaenogaster disperses bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seeds. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Breaking open a rotting log in an eastern deciduous forest reveals a nest of winnow ants, Aphaenogaster fulva. Ants of this genus are among the most abundant woodland ants in the northern hemisphere. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Breaking open a rotting log in an eastern deciduous forest reveals a nest of winnow ants, Aphaenogaster fulva. Ants of this genus are among the most abundant woodland ants in the northern hemisphere. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Worker, queen, and brood of an eastern woodland Aphaenogaster species. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Aphaenogaster fulva workers tending to brood. Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Portrait of Aphaenogaster fulva, a common woodland ant of northeastern North America. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Portrait of the eastern woodland Aphaenogaster fulva showing the characteristic narrow waist. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster fulva

Aphaenogaster fulva is part of nature's clean-up crew, combing the forest floor for scavengable food. Here they take care of a cockroach carcass. Clinton Lake State Recreation Area, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster lamellidens

These Aphaenogaster lamellidens foragers have discovered a live centipede and are attempting to pull it from its burrow. Dixon Springs, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster lamellidens

These Aphaenogaster lamellidens foragers have discovered a live centipede and are attempting to pull it from its burrow. Dixon Springs, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster lamellidens

These Aphaenogaster lamellidens foragers have discovered a live centipede and are attempting to pull it from its burrow. Dixon Springs, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster longiceps

Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia

Aphaenogaster longiceps

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

Aphaenogaster longiceps

Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia

Aphaenogaster mariae worker returning to the nest with a moth carcass. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster mariae workers recruit to honey smeared across a tree trunk as bait. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster mariae Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster mariae thread-waisted ant. Ants of this genus often place debris on liquid food (in this case, honey) as a sort of sponge. Once the food has been absorbed, the workers pick up the "sponge" and carry it back to the nest. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster mariae thread-waisted ant. Ants of this genus often place debris on liquid food (in this case, honey) as a sort of sponge. Once the food has been absorbed, the workers pick up the "sponge" and carry it back to the nest. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster miamiana

A winnow ant grooms herself. Ants have a brush on their forelegs that are used for cleaning the antennae. Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA

Aphaenogaster occidentalis

Aphaenogaster occidentalis queen and workers. This species is one of the most common ants in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Blodgett Forest, California, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

Aphaenogaster ants are abundant in forests of eastern North America. Here, a worker A. picea forages in a moss bed. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

Metamorphosis in Aphaenogaster picea. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

A young Aphaenogaster picea foundress queen raises her first crop of workers sealed in an underground chamber. She feeds the developing larvae with reserves from her own body. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

A young Aphaenogaster picea foundress queen with her first batch of eggs. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster picea

Male ants (with wings) are rather different beasts than their sisters. They exist solely to disperse the colony's genes, and perform no other work in the nest. South Bristol, New York, USA

Aphaenogaster rudis

Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Aphaenogaster rudis

A small woodland colony of the winnow ant Aphaenogaster rudis, with a single queen. Raven Run Nature Santuary, Kentucky, USA.

Aphaenogaster rudis

Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Aphaenogaster rudis

Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

Portrait of a social parasite, Aphaenogaster tennesseensis. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

Socially parasitic ants are usually discernable by their relatively small queens, as ants that start new colonies by infiltrating existing nests do not need large body reserves. The queen of Aphaenogaster tennesseensis- a temporary nest-founding parasite of several other woodland Aphaenogaster- is scarcely larger than her own workers. Urbana, Illinois, USA

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

This parasitic Aphaenogaster tennesseensis queen has just penetrated a nest of her host species, Aphaenogaster rudis. She is highly attractive to her victims, who unknowingly tend her and begin raising her eggs as their own. The original host queen killed, this colony will gradually turn into a full nest of A. tennesseensis. Manhattan, Kansas, USA