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Adetomyrma sp. mad01
Madagascar

photograph © Alex Wild 2006

A feeding frenzy in an Adetomyrma colony.  A paradox of ant biology is that adult ants cannot consume solid food, while the larvae can.  Larvae are essential for colony nutrition, more than just future adults, digesting proteinaceous food and passing it on in liquid form to the adults.  

Most ant species have evolved a simple mechanism for the transfer of liquid food by regurgitation (trophallaxis), but a few truly ancient lineages of ants, including the Adetomyrma pictured here, predate trophallaxis.  Instead, the adults chew holes in the larval skins and drink the hemolymph directly. Larvae are apparently unharmed by the procedure, although the practice has earned these insects the common name "dracula ants". 

Madagascar: Captive colony at the California Academy of Sciences.


This image is copyrighted by the photographer and cannot be used without permission. To obtain permission to use this image, please email Alex Wild. (alwild (at) myrmecos.net).  Most of the photographs on myrmecos.net are reduced from their original size and compressed for more efficient web transmission.  In some cases, higher quality versions are available.

This image was captured with a Canon EOS 20D, using a Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens.