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Neivamyrmex opacithorax - Army Ant Queen
Arizona, USA

photograph © Alex Wild 2005

A queen Neivamyrmex army ant.  Her enormous abdomen houses ovaries for egg production.  Queen army ants are among the most fecund of all insects, as army ant colonies may have tens or  hundreds of thousands of worker ants (such as the small ant pictured riding on top) and the reproduction is the work of a single mother queen.

 
USA AZ Cochise Co.: Chiricahua Mtns., 18km 275º W Portal, 1800m, 31º57´N 109º19´W
11.viii.2005  Oak-pine-juniper woodland in Pinery Canyon, in rotting log.   #AW2689, voucher specimens deposited at ALWC & UCDC.

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 D60, with a Canon 65/2.8 MPE 1-5x Macro lens.