Formica ravida & Polyergus breviceps
Sagehen Creek, California, USA
Formica ravida & Polyergus breviceps
Sagehen Creek, California, USA
|
Mistaken identity? Formica ravida is a temporary social parasite
of other species of Formica. Here a young queen has discovered a
Polyergus
nest, which she apparently perceived as a potential host
Formica
nest. Polyergus is a slave-raider that exists in mixed colonies
with the same host Formica used by F. ravida, and it is possible
that Polyergus' ability to fool its own host
Formica extends
to other species.
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 Nikon
Coolpix 995.
|