myrmecos.net

Dorylus helvolus
Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

photograph © Alex Wild 2008

Most army ant lineages have evolved a highly flexible two-segmented waist that allows them greater use of their stinger, but Dorylus is unusual in that it retains the ancestral condition of a single waist segment.   

Republic of South Africa: 
Kwazulu-Natal, St. Lucia
2.vii.2008 28º23.0'S 32º24.5'E, 20m
Rainforest edge, trail of ants under rotting log.
voucher specimen deposited at ALWC

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 65mm MPE 1-5x macro lens.