1088 replies to this topic

[kalimant]

What lenses do people use? I would love to start doing ant photography along with all the other photography I do but i'm not sure if my camera/lens is good enough. I have a Canon Rebel t2i and I also have a canon 275mm lens.

 

My camera is an old Nikon D3400, and for macrophotography I use a Tokina at-X PRO M 100mm F2.8 D Macro Lens - Nikon AF Mount. No autofocus for this pairing, which is fine so far since the very shallow depth of field means I have to carefully adjust it anyways. I was being cheap and got the cheaper lens.

Edited by kalimant, June 2 2024 - 12:20 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Pheidole megacephala vs Solenopsis invicta

https://keyapa.com/p...nopsis-invicta/

Vendayn would’ve loved that. Old timers will know who I’m talking about.

I really really doubt he had P. megacephala in CA. I mean, it's easy to take a pic that clearly shows the species, or send a sample somewhere. I have a feeling it was all in his imagination.

He was an imaginative fellow, so you’re probably right.

[kalimant]

Pheidole megacephala soldier during a melee. I like this pic.

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[kalimant]

Pheidole megacephala minor workers come face to face with a huge fire ant (Solenopsis invicta major).

 

The minor worker in the foreground managed to grab the fire ant antennae after this shot I think.

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[ANTdrew]

Pheidole megacephala minor workers come face to face with a huge fire ant (Solenopsis invicta major).

The minor worker in the foreground managed to grab the fire ant antennae after this shot I think.

Vendayn would love these shots.

[kalimant]

 

Pheidole megacephala minor workers come face to face with a huge fire ant (Solenopsis invicta major).

The minor worker in the foreground managed to grab the fire ant antennae after this shot I think.

Vendayn would love these shots.

 

 

I took a look at his thread and he did post very bad long distance pics of the ants that are supposedly P. megacephala. Unfortunately, they're so bad it's really hard to determine, though they do kinda look like them. In the end, he screwed up by not providing solid evidence (whether clear pics or samples sent out) for all his storytelling.

Anyways, that pic above was part of the melee that happened when bait meant for the Pheidole was discovered by Solenopsis foragers.

In the end, that huge Solenopsis major was pinned down and its limbs separated by roving majors. A major tried to sever the gaster from the thorax, but was unable to...

Notice the minor pulling something from the tip of the gaster though....even though the major could not sever the petiole area, another major crushed the abdomen near the stinger and stuff spilled out (yes, ewwww).




 

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Edited by kalimant, June 11 2024 - 6:02 AM.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

Wow  pulling even from the back! These remind me of Oecophylla

[kalimant]

Wow  pulling even from the back! These remind me of Oecophylla

 
You're talking about the two-ant "daisy chain" in the front?

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

No, the minor pulling the stinger

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

My newly eclosed C.us-Ca02 nanitic

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Edited by GOCAMPONOTUS, June 13 2024 - 6:56 PM.

[AsdinAnts]

it looks edible.. 👀

[kalimant]

Pheidole megacephala soldier grapples with incoming Solenopsis invicta fire ant.

 

https://keyapa.com/p...victa-fire-ants

 

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[Ernteameise]

Some pictures I took of Atta cephalotes at the Bug Parc (Lenwade, UK).

Note the massive majors on patrol and the tiny minims riding on every leaf that is transported int the nest (to fend off the decapitation flies)

 

 

 

 

[kalimant]

The ongoing hostilities between incoming fire ants and Pheidole megacephala continued. Here two fire ants gang up on a lone PM soldier.

 

 

https://keyapa.com/p...victa-invasion/

 

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[Ernteameise]

I love all the graphic war reports coming in!

[kalimant]

I love all the graphic war reports coming in!

 

Well, I hope you like the macro pics too, as it was very hard to get good pics in an active sidewalk of ants that are mm small ;-)

[Stubyvast]

I have a bunch of miscellaneous ones I want to share, including some of my microscope pictures! Enjoy.

 

 

A massive colony of Formica obscuripes I found at a park. Guess it makes sense that they're called "mound ants."

 

 

A desiccated tetramorium immigrans male alate, who I fed to my Venus fly-trap, then discovered its perfectly preserved body.

 

 

A parasitic mite, one of two, which I found on the above alate. Unsure of what species.

 

 

One of the most beautiful queens to see under a microscope: A myrmeca rubra dealate female, who did not survive the founding stage. I love the texture on her head. So cool! 

 

 

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[Mettcollsuss]

I've been working on my microscopy for a little while, so I thought I'd share some of my specimen photos I'm particularly fond of.

 

Lasius claviger x latipes hybrid queen (AntWeb link for higher quality)

 

 

Lasius cf. interjectus queen (AntWeb link for higher quality).

 

Odontomachus haematodus worker (AntWeb link for higher quality)

 

Diacamma sp., seemingly close to D. excellens (AntWeb link for higher quality)

Edited by Mettcollsuss, June 30 2024 - 9:35 AM.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

recent ants i saw while in Indiana.
There were three different specices all around this one tree.

Some really tiny ween ones i could not get a decent pic of that formed a long line from the ground all the way up into the tree.

And two others, a camponotus of some kind, all black with a little white/translucent sriping on their gastors.  Also failed to get any decent pics of them.

 

And something very deep red head and body, black gastor.

 

here's the red and balck one, they moved in fast short jerky bursts and were hard to get pics of.

 

leftovers of a junebug with ants.

 

 

I noticed around the tree that the different ants would freak out when encountering each other but not get to fighting. They just ran away from each other and mostly seemd to do their best to avoid the other ants around them.

[Full_Frontal_Yeti]

and then back home i spotted this happening on the way into work.

 

my foot for scale, US 11.5:

 

 

 

big size: