This black harvester ant carries an old battle ornament on her antennae: a Solenopsis xyloni fire ant head capsule. Presumably the fire ant was killed in a fight, but her mandibles had latched so firmly to her opponent that it remains attached even as the rest of her body has fallen away. Anza Borrego, California, USA.

pergandei32ant fightsant battlesVeromessor pergandeiMyrmicinaeant headfighting