Ants - In and Out of our home

woodant

My wife and I were busy in our garden when we saw these Lasius niger workers tending their herds of aphids. Note the worker ant licking up honeydew exuded by an aphid.

Herding aphids


Drinking honeydew

woodant

We also keep ant colonies as a hobby. Here are some of my Messor barbarus tending growing larvae. Note the red-headed super-major worker of this species acts like a soldier to guard the smaller workers.
Apologies for the focus blur on the photo where she is rushing up toward my wife, but these girls move very fast.

Giphsub

Very interesting set. Not the usual stuff we see in the wildlife forums. I have seen the ants on the aphids in our yard, but assumed they were attacking them, not tending them...

woodant

This is an interesting photo, as normally the common black garden ant (Lasius niger) is a dull blackish brown; but here they look like the more colourful wood ant species (Formica rufa). This photo was taken in the evening sun of May 21st by my wife, as it shows worker ants on a cornflower with the sunlight streaming through their little bodies.

Harryb

Very interesting images but alas they aren't mammals, birds or reptiles so I'm moving this to other cool shots.