Plectroctena mandibularis, South Africa
Every now and again someone asks how I get the white background on these sorts of stylized ant shots. Pretty simple: it’s a sheet of cheap white printer paper. Overexposing the shot slightly by boosting the flash evens out the white.
I set the ant down on the paper under a petri dish or a lens cap, let her settle in, and remove the cover to get a few seconds of a relaxed ant before she’s off to the races.
Photo details: Canon mp-e 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D.
ISO 100, f13, 1/250th sec, diffuse twin flash
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Why is she curling her abdomen like that?
Great shot.
Is that a defensive position, or was she caught in the act of grooming?
I believe E.O. Wilson was the first to document this fascinating behaviour in his 1971 book The Insect Societies. This is what ants do when they’re alone on a Saturday night.
ha!
Very spectacular shot!
Looks like a more or less defensive (or perhaps aggressive would be better) pose to me, but if she is relaxed, then I guess appearances can be deceiving.
OT, but on on unusual positions of the gaster, I used to see a rather spidery looking ant in Queensland that held its gaster over the body (possibly members of the genus Leptomyrmex). Does anyone have an hypothesis supported by data as to why they do this? I was always told they were mimicking spiders, but that never made a lot of sense to me.
This ant was mellow throughout the photo shoot, and she’s grooming in this shot.
Dave- the Leptomyrmex spider ants have potent defensive chemistry, as do all dolichoderines. I presume that they’re running around with their weaponry ready to fire. Quite striking insects, as you note.
so cool!!!
You pics of ants on white are my favourites. They are very beautiful and it is neat that there is behind them, literally, such simplicity.