Apparently there's an ant war going on in my yard! 3mm or so in size there are clearly two types of ants going at it, I thought it was one group gathering food but nope, that's a war! Also that's what a Canon 180mm L macro lens can do in terms of depth, I can follow one tiny ant as it runs about using the focal ring only. The pic on the bottom has the two ants fighting but it's focused a couple of millimeters past them, the one on top brings them into focus.
Daily life of the Asian Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina). First, a couple of cute sisters. These inquisitive ladys had to poke their heads out to see what was approaching their nests. Moments later they were lined up with mandibles wide and abdomens flinging formic acid at me. But it started cute and intimate.
Next, an attentive farmer wondering why I am getting so close to its cattle.
This ant from the cloud forest in Colombia is perhaps having a micro nap or just struggling to deal with the heat and lack of moisture we experiencing. This lady is a tank! She looks as menacing as she does gorgeous. I didn't find any turtle ants while I was there, but I'm happy with seeing these.
This image was taken with an iPhone SE 3rd gen, zoomed in 50%. I don’t know what software trickery is at play here but the resulting image is surprisingly vivid, sharp, and pleasant, and in focus.
I tried to go take a peek at the new leaf cutter ant colony at the AMNH but golly geez... the line was SO LONG. I gotta try to go first thing in the AM.
I'm glad it's popular, though. Every museum can be improved with ant colonies!
@futurebird
The whole setup is some Phase IV futuristic-looking SciFi shit. It's impressive. They included obstacles, barriers and traps for the ants to show their collective smarts in getting around or neutralizing them.
I don't know ants. I imagine aging individuals take on riskier (to themselves) roles, e.g. foraging, defense.
A Ponerine ant, Diacamma geometricum, spotted at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park on 5 Feb 2023. Interesting ripple pattern on its body. This ant species does not have a queen. Instead, some fertile workers breed and produce the colony.