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Eciton burchellii
These army ants are famous for their huge, organized, extremely fierce columns that move through areas searching for prey. Their waists are two-segmented. The larger soldier ants, which can be over 10 mm long, are impressive with their prominent round cream-white heads, light reddish bodies and ice tong shaped mandibles. The common "worker" ants are around 6-8 mm long and have darker bodies than the solder ants.
These terrestrial ants are found in the tropical regions of Central and South America. Although they may occasionally be found in open spaces, their preference is for heavily forested areas. These pictured were crossing such an open area in front of our house in the Amazon rainforest of SE Ecuador. The single column was 10-20 cm wide and stretched out for 15-20 meters before losing itself in the vegetation.
Eciton burchellii is a predator of arthropods and small vertebrates; many of which are much larger than a single army ant. Their strength comes from their ferocity and sheer numbers. One colony can have over half a million member. Now, where was I? Rats. I lost count. One, two, three, four . . . :-)
Spotted on Jul 11, 2005
Submitted on Apr 21, 2019
14 Comments
Come when you want, Neil. You can stay at my home.
That might just work. Bright yellow ones. Something to match my lovely sun hat :D
You can wear them with your crocs. 8-D
I've been to a few places but never to South America. The wildlife of Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, etc. looks so amazing. One day, I hope... and I'll bring my woossy gaiters ;)
Wow, men eater ants, touristofagous bears and bad moody snakes! I love to live in a place were I only need to worry about venomous caterpillars, blood sucking bugs and... ok, we have bad moody snakes too... Come here, you'll feel at home!
Gaiters = bite wooss.
Lol. Drop bears are also working on our tourist industry, one at a time! Besides, Mark, I wear snake-proof gaiters and I have a walking stick. Up and down, round and round, I got it covered :D
Tsk tsk Neil.
In Aus you should keep one eye up AND one down for the ground bities. Your eyes go like that anyway after a bite.
[Tukup we are still working on our tourist industry]
Just reading up on "drop bears." That's hilarious. Thanks Neil. Have a good night.
The koala's are actually "drop bears" (Thylarctos plummetus). They seem to have an appetite for tourists but locals aren't really to their taste. They are carnivorous and drop out of trees. https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/an... As the saying goes in Australia... "Look up and live!" ;-)
I've admired the dentition of your koalas since I first saw them. I see it is hereditary as the little one carries the same trait :-) I smile every time I see them. Thanks Neil. I appreciate your comments but I fear we share the same weird sense of humor :-)
OMG That is so true about Chuck playing a good Moses. It was on TV here last night (for the millionth time. That means Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music are on their way). I caught a few minutes and had to laugh when he threw the tablets at the golden calf, and it exploded. I scared the cats. The reference "A guide to common ants of the Amazon rainforest" is awesome! The photos are magnificent. What formidable creatures.
The second reference I gave says, "tales of human consumption are greatly overstated." If I had known their "human consumption" had actually been filmed I might have included the link. IMDb says, "The Leiningen South American cocoa plantation is threatened by a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants." That would be many, many ants. :-) Charlton Heston made a better Moses than plantation owner. Thanks for the smile Neil.
This reminds me of the 1950's movie "The naked jungle", and the famed marabunta (I had to look that up). This'll give you a good laugh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEN0EscK... Excellent spotting and notes, Tukup. Don't get carried away ;)