Azteca velox worker tending to a Theope caterpillar. Isla Contadora, Panama
Azteca velox recruit to the carcass of an Ectatomma species. Ants are the great recyclers: few insects die in tropical forests that aren't scavenged immediately by ants. Isla Contadora, Panama
The brood nest of the ant-plant ant Azteca is a mix of ant larvae (the larger grubs) and Beltian food bodies (the smaller ovoids). The Cecropia tree housing the ants also produces Beltian bodies as nourishment to the larvae. Icononzo, Tolima, Colombia
