Simopelta manni

A ponerine army ant. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Simopelta manni

A ponerine army ant. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Simopelta manni

A trail of ponerine army ants crosses through the leaf litter of a South American cloud forest. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

One of the most remarkable examples of evolutionary convergence in ants involves the ponerine genus Simopelta and the true army ants (subfamilies Ecitoninae, Aenictinae, and Dorylinae). Both groups are specialized predators of other ants, and their queens have a similar morphology. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Worker and larvae in a laboratory colony. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Nest emigration across leaf litter. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Nest emigration across leaf litter. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Queen with brood. Although unrelated to the more "classic" army ants, the queens of both groups are wingless. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei, queen with brood. Although unrelated to the more "classic" army ants, the queens of both groups are wingless and similar in form. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

A Simopelta queen with attendant workers running in a column. Her abdomen apparently exudes an attractant that keeps the attention of the following ant whose mouthparts are held open above abdominal segment 4. Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta sp. nr. pergandei

Parque Nacional Henri Pittier, Venezuela

Simopelta

A raiding column of ponerine army ants. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.