Category Archives: ants

Ants and Treehoppers

Posted on August 14, 2012 by

I ran across some clusters of treehoppers and ants on giant ragweed yesterday and today. Here the ant is the Allegheny mound ant, Formica exsectoides.  The treehoppers are nymphs, but I think they are Publilia concava.  The ants and treehoppers … Continue reading →

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Looking for Inspiration

Posted on July 19, 2012 by

I am not a musician but I often think that being a photographer is a lot like being a musician.  You do it for reasons that aren’t readily apparent to others.  You have to practice often.  Often you specialize–maybe you … Continue reading →

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Ants and Butterflies

Posted on July 17, 2012 by

I checked out the plant that had the aphids and ants on it again tonight.  It seemed to me that there were fewer ants and especially fewer aphids than yesterday.  Why?  Or was it just my imagination–I did not count … Continue reading →

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Ants and Aphids

Posted on July 16, 2012 by

Yesterday I came across some ants tending aphids. I am pretty sure the ant is Formica exsectoides,  the Allegheny mound ant.  I don’t know the aphid–I am pretty sure microscopic examination would be required to identify it. There is a … Continue reading →

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Firewood Critters

Posted on September 15, 2011 by

I’ve put off cutting firewood for most of the summer.  Now it is getting cold, and summer will soon be gone.  So I have started cutting some. I easily get off task, however.  Here are some critters I found under … Continue reading →

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The Coolest Thing I Saw at the Bugguide Gathering…

Posted on August 6, 2011 by

These were my favorite insects of the Bugguide gathering.  I saw them at Doolittle Prairie on Thursday night. This is a type of a fly, apparently in the fruit fly group.  This one is a female.  It has a fat abdomen … Continue reading →

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Ants and Aphids

Posted on May 30, 2011 by

These ants and aphids were on a wild parsnip plant.  I don’t know the names of either.

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Peony Ants

Posted on May 20, 2011 by

Peony buds always seem to attract a number of ants. I think this is Formica subsericea Either there are numbers of ants or there are numbers of other insects–often flies. These peonies had a number of very colorful bluebottle flies, … Continue reading →

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The Ants are Back

Posted on March 21, 2011 by

I looked at the nest of Formica exsectoides in our back yard yesterday.  The ants are moving, slowly bringing debris out the entrance to the top of the nest. I hope to have a different photographic obsession this year.  I … Continue reading →

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The Evil Springtail

Posted on December 11, 2010 by

During the spring and summer of 2010 I spent several days watching and photographing ants and visitors on a nest of the Allegheny mound-building ant.  On June second I saw what I thought was the most remarkable event I have witnessed on … Continue reading →

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