Last night’s tight crop was difficult enough that I expected no one to correctly guess the exact species. Marek B came close, however, picking the genus. Anochetus is a diverse if inconspicuous group of ponerine trap-jaw ants found in warmer climates around the world.
This pair of images illustrates the strengths of two very different methods of imaging. The macro photograph allows me to capture the pose and color of a living insect, while the SEM is brilliant at minute structural details, although the ant is obviously dead.
So. 8 points to Marek, who pulls into the lead for the month, and one point each for Ainsley, Julio, Roxana, and Flavia who each guessed a trap-jaw ant.
Be honest, was the MnM mandible crop part of some species specific character, or was beyond genus identification just guesswork? 😉
Bah! I have yesterday’s notes in front of me, which read:
Anochetes faurei
Odantomachus
Daceton
Acanthognathus
Epopostruma
Strumigenys
I don’t remember why, but out of all the ants in these genera that I looked at on antweb, A. faurei was the only species that I wrote down on my list of possibilities. I should trust my super gestalt-sensing powers more.