Ants
 

Thought I would start an ant thread, my posts might get edited from time to time.


I noticed this interesting behaviour last night out walking. These ants tuck their gaster in under their body and stay fixed in position for a while. Good time to snap a photo. Keyed it out to Polyrhachis spp. using Australian Ants: their biology and identification. Then a search online confirmed.

According to the Queensland Museum site: "Spiny ants cannot sting but spray formic acid from a small circular hole (the acidopore) at the tip of the gaster." I wonder if that is a clue to this behaviour.

From my own observation the behaviour seemed independent of myself and I thought it perhaps a laying down of scent for they were more happy to escape back into their nest with my interruptions. They were nesting in the end of where a branch had broken away from the tree. I will have to take another look soon.

Also hints at behaviour here and here with Alex Wild's site also helping.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/6...83288f19_n.jpg
Spiny Ant Exif data

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7092/6...ec150d3c_n.jpg
Spiny Ant Exif data



Canon EOS 40D with MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro and diffused Twin Lite MT-24EX

Last week I went out and found this Myrmecia spp. and then last night after making some changes to my flash diffuser I found another.

From my online searching last week it is probably Myrmecia pyriformis, though I am not certain. It was nice to see it alone and ready to inspect me a little so as to be able to photograph.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7...51dce7a7b4.jpg
Myrmecia Exif data

Last night it was on the ground and was far more interested in confrontation and challenge, particularly my torch, but soon thought better and retreated to some cover.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7...08eb091727.jpg
Myrmecia or via Light-box Exif data

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8010/7...879af6587b.jpg
Myrmecia Exif data



Canon EOS 40D with MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro and diffused Twin Lite MT-24EX

I've seen Polyrhachis carrying their gaster above their body, but not below.

That's very cool.

I'll ask about this at work tomorrow.

Many ants spray formic acid and don't have this behaviour, so I'd suggest looking for an alternate hypothesis. I can't think of one any better ATM though.

Nice photos BTW.

My next camera will have to have decent macro capabilities. The current one doesn't cut the mustard at all.

Thanks Teleost. I have just added a couple of more and I will edit some photo info in later too; lens, aperture, etc.

Gorgeous photographs! Almost makes me want to start photography again.

Nowhere near as good as Nut's pics, but here's one I took of what I think is a Meranoplus worker on one of the ginger fronds at my place. They are small ants and my eyesight is so bad that I have to point the camera in the general direction and hope the autofocus is working!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QxU0gMe_9g...rest_ant_1.jpg

Wow.

Just wow.

There are a half dozen scent glands at the tip and under the gaster, but the only gland located on top of the gaster is the pygidial gland, which is traditionally used to distribute the pheromones reserved for "rallying the troops", which is usually spread through the air by raising it up.

However, some tuck the gaster in and spread it on the ground but that does not seem to be the case here. Not all ants use the same pheromones for the same task though, so it may be possible these ants are using it for a different purpose.

However, the ants that forage outside of the nest are the older ants, the ones that can afford to be sacrificed in the hunt for food so my bet is on them not doing anything scent wise but merely napping/resting.

I'm speechless.

A first for you roughy http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...es/onthego.png (more likely avoiding things being thrown in my direction) but the photos are certainly inspiring. All I need to do now is find the energy and then the time. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grey.png PS I think there are now tooo many faces to choose from ????

http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...s/rolleyes.png Yeah, despise slow loading smiley windows. Truly though I am speechless.

Why do we have a thread for Arts in Scribbly? doesn't she belong next door?

I can't add much by way of answer to this question, other than to say I'm sure I've seen/heard exactly that behaviour and explanation on one of David Attenborough's docos. I'll see if I can dig up a link on utoob or somewhere.

E. O. Wilson also has some great stuff out there (*points*) regarding ants too, might pop a couple of links into this thread.

LOL, typed David Attenborough Ants into google and first hit was a link to this video



around 1.40minutes in it shows video of ants in a mangrove swamp displaying exactly that a*se down behaviour nut captured in his photo. (video runs 3 and a bit minutes total).

Notice how that interaction is between two ants, so it appears to be a defensive behavior, "hand on their gun when meeting a stranger". Nut's (and other's) observations have the ants staying in that unmoving position for many minutes.

Maybe an individual ant with an identity crisis? Or one pondering the real meaning of being an ant?

http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo.../smile-new.png

Your glasses fogged up again?

Thanks for posting all the info and links, sensational. CS has also 'loaned' me an ant book which is fantastic. Thanks.

When I go out next I am keen to have another look. It could be that that they responded to my torch as a potential intruder and went into the behaviour witnessed but it doesn't quite feel right with my observations. We shall see.

Not at all, great pic! I have been thinking of getting a wider perspective also but with my current set-up it doesn't allow me enough distance. I missed a great shot of Myrmecia last time out, it went into a, what I thought, a defensive confrontation with my torch. Head down, gaster up with me shooting from a side angle. I would have loved to have gotten back a bit more and instead got a shot of a gasterless ant.

Thanks for posting a great little ant!

Ant or Rant?

Very interesting thread so far, great pics and great info.

What type of camera set-up and lens you using nut?