A Stictoponera menadensis (subfamily Ectatomminae) worker foraging in the leaf litter at Danum Valley, Sabah, plus another specimen on white background. Colonies of this species often lack queens. Instead, unlike in most ants, workers can mate and take over egg laying as so-called “gamergates”.

How fun! I was invited to write a "Species Spotlight" for Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com and I chose my favorite species the Florida turtle ant Cephalotes varians! rdcu.be/e5EZK Including a stunning photo of ants I collected by @alexwild.bsky.social

Portraits of the Dolichoderus colony members inhabiting the epiphytic myrmecophyte (ant plant) in Danum Valley, Borneo: A queen, a worker, and a male.

A few tropical acrobat ants taking nectar from a Heliconia flower. Minca, Colombia.

The beautiful Camponotus kaura is a night-active ant endemic to the eastern Caribbean. El Yunque, Puerto Rico.

This is…not an ant. It’s the ant-mimicking nymph of a true bug (Heteroptera). Check out the long proboscis, which the bug has inserted into a leaf to suck phloem sap. Proof once again that everything wants to be an ant. Sabah, Borneo.

Here is another ant-mimicking spider from Sabah, this time from Danum Valley. This is a jumping spider in the subtribe Myrmarachnina, literally meaning “ant spiders”. Constrictions of the cephalothorax and opisthosoma give it the appearance of an ant with a separate head and “wasp waist”.

In the Myrmicaria ant garden, I made a serendipitous discovery: an ant-mimicking spider in the genus Serendib (possibly S. volans?), which I hadn’t seen before. The first image shows a Myrmicaria worker on the carton nest for comparison. The second image shows the spider. Tambunan, Sabah.

In Asian rainforests, several ant species in the genera Camponotus, Crematogaster, Diacamma, Pheidole and Philidris construct ant gardens by cultivating epiphytic plants in arboreal carton nests. This image shows such an ant garden in Tambunan, Sabah.

OK, one more Leptogenys from Danum Valley before we move on to other ants, just to show off the diversity of this genus. These ants are from a large (many hundred if not thousands of workers) colony I found in and under a rotting log. I don’t know which species this is - suggestions are welcome.

Leptogenys diminuta is another species with army ant-like behavior. Colonies are smaller though, measuring only a few hundred workers. The ants are nomadic and hunt in columns. Sabah, Borneo.

Sneaking around the world in plant pots, soil, and other shipments, the granulate crypt ant Hypoponera opaciceps is native to South America but is now found broadly across North America and Pacific islands.

Like their doryline counterparts, Leptogenys army ants host diverse communities of guest insects. Here are two of these myrmecophiles, a silverfish (possibly Malayatelura ponerophila) and a featherwing beetle (ptiliidae), both hitching a ride on pupae that the ants carry. Danum Valley, Sabah.

Another swarm-raiding Leptogenys from Danum Valley. Like any proper army ant, these guys are nomadic, and here they are during a colony relocation. Unlike in phasic army ants, the colony contains offspring at widely different developmental stages, from larvae and pupae to young adults.

These Florida harvester ant major workers never looked real to me. Just a ridiculously large head tacked on to a regular harvester ant body. Archbold Biological Station, Florida.

A razorjaw ant (genus Leptogenys) from Danum Valley, Sabah. Same species I posted yesterday. Leptogenys is the most species-rich ponerine genus. Most species have small colonies and are specialist predators, but some, like this one, have evolved massive colonies and a generalist diet.

Among the ants I most wanted to see during my recent trip to Borneo were swarm-raiding ponerine army ants in the genus Leptogenys. Just like swarm-raiding army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae, these species have a generalist diet. Here they are subduing a whip scorpion, or vinegaroon. Danum Valley.

Australian Camponotus sugar ants are a lot more variable than our North American species. Here's Camponotus suffusus, from Victoria.

Whenever I see this photo of harvester ants working on their nest, I think how it looks like they planted a decorative tree by their door like they have an HOA or something. (Pogonomyrmex desertorum, west Texas)

I didn't notice that I'd photographed this weird ant-mimicking bug running with a column of Anonychomyrma ants until I was processing the photos. I can't find any research on this, either. (Photo from Wilson's Prom, Victoria, the southernmost point of continental Australia).

One of Australia's most common and distinctive ants is the colorful Rhytidoponera metallica, seen here with silken cocoons in the brood nest. Diamond Creek, Victoria.

Was surprised to find a new-to-me jack jumper species, Myrmecia fulvipes, in a small park I’ve been visiting for 20 years. The ant looks nearly as surprised as me!

Algunos parecidos son realmente impresionANTes...

🐜Ants in a teapot!!! Our researchers documented Camponotus nicobarensis escaping a home formicarium and nesting in ceramic teapots, raising brood successfully. A striking example of ant adaptability and a warning about risks linked to exotic ant trade. 🔗https://shorturl.at/NruKr #Ants #AnimalTrade

Hovering battles at the ant nest: the remarkable behavior of a rare ant parasitoid wasp ⚔️ In this blog, Satsuki shares her discovery of fights between female wasps competing for access to ant larvae. insectessociaux.com/2025/12/27/h... #InsectesSociaux #Entomology #ParasitoidWasps #AnimalBehavior

🌆 New exotic ants in Madrid: first records in inland Spain

🌆 Nuevas hormigas exóticas en Madrid: primeros registros en el interior peninsular

🧪 AIM member Estrella Conde authors a new article that evaluates the ecological value of pine plantations by studying ant biodiversity and community composition in Mediterranean ecosystems.

🧪 La socia Estrella Conde firma un nuevo artículo que evalúa el valor ecológico de las plantaciones de pino a través del estudio de la biodiversidad y composición de comunidades de hormigas en ecosistemas mediterráneos.

🧪 AIM member @trigos-peral.bsky.social takes part in a new article analyzing how urbanization affects the food resources of aphid-tending ants such as Lasius niger.

🧪 La socia @trigos-peral.bsky.social participa en un nuevo artículo que analiza cómo la urbanización afecta a los recursos alimentarios de hormigas afidófagas como Lasius niger.

👥 Our members Amonio David Cuesta-Segura and Fede García García have contributed to a new publication documenting the presence of #Brachymyrmex patagonicus in Spain.

👥 Los socios Amonio David Cuesta-Segura y Fede García García participan en una nueva publicación que documenta la presencia de #Brachymyrmex patagonicus en España.

A winter ant, Prenolepis imparis. Georgia.

Resurrected this 10 year old photo from my unpublished archives, not sure why I ignored it the first time. It's a Carebara queen ant in an underground nest chamber, with brood. Victoria, Australia.

Silken cocoons in a Lasius nearcticus ant brood nest. Western New York.

Restoring the nest after the rain... 🐜 Tapinoma ibericum, Bormujos, Spain. #ants #nature #soil_organisms #ecosystem_engineers

📖 Our member Fede García García has contributed to the outreach magazine Mundo #Artrópodo with an article devoted to the complex and fascinating relationships between #ants and other organisms.

📖 El socio Fede García participa en la revista de divulgación Mundo #Artrópodo con un artículo dedicado a las complejas y sorprendentes relaciones entre las #hormigas y otros organismos.

Tired: Everything evolves to be a crab. Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.

Ms Dryinidae, up to nothing nefarious of course

¡La Asociación Ibérica de Mirmecología os desea una Feliz Navidad y un próspero 2026!

🐜 Unveiling the hidden myrmecodiversity of Moroccan soils 👬 Our members Joaquín Reyes and Ahmed Taheri have authored a new research article focused on #subterraneanants, a key yet still poorly known group within soil #ecosystems.

🐜 Desvelando la mirmecodiversidad oculta del suelo marroquí 👬 Nuestros socios Joaquín Reyes y Ahmed Taheri firman un nuevo artículo de investigación centrado en las #hormigas subterráneas, un grupo clave pero aún poco conocido de los #ecosistemas del #suelo.

🐜 Ants in the Neighbourhood 🗣️ Our member @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social continues bringing myrmecology into classrooms thanks to Ciencia en el Barrio, a CSIC initiative that brings science closer to schools in urban areas.

🐜 Hormigas en el Barrio 🗣️ Nuestro socio @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social sigue llevando la mirmecología a las aulas gracias a Ciencia en el Barrio, una iniciativa del #CSIC que acerca la ciencia a centros educativos de zonas urbanas.

🐜 The longhorn #crazyant reaches the interior of the Iberian Peninsula! 📍 Our member @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social has documented the first record of #Paratrechinalongicornis in Extremadura, found in Plaza de España (Mérida) in September 2024. There, 37 workers were collected while actively foraging

🐜 ¡La hormiga loca ya en el interior peninsular! 📍 Nuestro socio @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social ha documentado la primera cita de #Paratrechina longicornis en Extremadura, localizada en la Plaza de España de Mérida en septiembre de 2024. Allí se recolectaron 37 obreras en plena actividad forrajera.

🐜 Science, ants… and Ciudad Ciencia! 📚 On Tuesday, 9 December, our member @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social took part in a Ciudad Ciencia session, giving a talk in their reading club about his book What Do We Know About… Ants?

🐜 ¡Ciencia, hormigas… y Ciudad Ciencia! 📚 El pasado martes 9 de diciembre, nuestro socio @jmvidalcordero.bsky.social participó en una sesión del programa Ciudad Ciencia impartiendo una charla en su club de lectura sobre su libro Qué sabemos de... Las hormigas.