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Formica sp.
This field ant is about 5mm long and dull red with a slightly darker abdomen. There are five species living in the eastern US and I think this may be Formica dolosa, but am not sure.
Dry sandy area next to a wetland. These are common ants living in many different habitats
I drove to Crex Meadows yesterday, one of my favorite wildlife/birding/photography spots in the Midwest. There was a storm moving in later in the day and I thought there would be a good chance of a great sunset and cloud photos. No such luck as heavy overcast moved in first creating dull light for wildlife photography and nothing much for sunset, so I started looking for macro subject on which I could use flash. This field ant was a perfect subject. I also need to find out what insect larvae it was tending in the second photo. In the first photo, I moved too quickly and the ant raised up in alarm or defense. A second later it tucked itself in the blossoms. It stayed there for about 15 seconds and then ventured back out to tend to the larvae.
Spotted on Sep 7, 2012
Submitted on Sep 7, 2012
6 Comments
great shot
Wonderful shots Gordon.
Yeah verry nice
Excellent!
Thanks for the kind words.
Stunning photos Gordon.