Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Ant

"Certain types of aphids live in colonies where they are used as a food source by a neighbouring colony of ants. The ants have been known to bite the wings off the aphids in order to stop them from getting away and depriving the ants of one of their staple foods: the sugar-rich sticky honeydew which is excreted by aphids when they eat plants. (They don't eat the actual Aphids). Chemicals produced in the glands of ants can also sabotage the growth of aphid wings." From ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009212548.htm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium

I'm amazed I got this one sharp photo yesterday, on a walk at Votier's Flats, Fish Creek Park. We were standing looking at the busy activity of thousands of these tiny ants on their anthill and I knew there was no way I could safely kneel down and take a macro shot. So I grabbed a piece of dead grass and let one tiny ant climb on to it. The grass was blowing in the wind, the ant was running back and forth and I was trying to make sure it didn't get closer than an inch away from my fingers - and I held my camera in the other hand and clicked : ) Love the reddish brown heads (and thorax) of these little Thatching Ants. Thanks, Lynette, for the ID! www.talkaboutwildlife.ca/profile/?s=1841