After her mating flight, a Tetramorium caespitum foundress queen searches for a suitable nesting site.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
Breaking open a rotting log in an eastern deciduous forest reveals a nest of winnow ants, Aphaenogaster fulva. Ants of this genus are among the most abundant woodland ants in the northern hemisphere.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
A cross-section of an urban lawn reveals plump pink root aphids feeding on grass, and tiny Solenopsis molesta thief ants tending them for honeydew.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
Minor workers of the southeastern Pheidole metallescens are one of North America's few iridescent ants.

Gainesville, Florida, USA
Pheidole metallescens, minor and major workers. Major workers of some species of Pheidole are repletes, storing large amounts of liquid food in their social stomachs.

Gainesville, Florida, USA
Pheidole metallescens, minor and major workers.

Gainesville, Florida, USA
A spiderweb strung across a rainforest leaf has entangled a pair of ants- Azteca (left), and Pheidole (right).

Armenia, Belize
The swollen red abdomen and unusually shrunken head of this Cephalotes porrasi turtle ant suggests she is carrying a parasitic mermithid nematode.

Armenia, Belize
Portrait of the trap-jaw ant Odontomachus rixosus with her jaws open. Note the forward-facing trigger hairs.

Cambodia (laboratory colony at the University of Illinois)
After her mating flight, a Tetramorium caespitum foundress queen searches for a suitable nesting site.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
After her mating flight, a Tetramorium caespitum foundress queen searches for a suitable nesting site.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
After her mating flight, a Tetramorium caespitum foundress queen searches for a suitable nesting site.

Urbana, Illinois, USA
See photo in original gallery.
all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013