Tag Archives: Formica exsectoides

An Ant Tending Treehoppers

Posted on September 14, 2013 by the roused bear

I found this ant, Formica exsectoides, tending some adults of the treehopper Entylia carinata on the underside of a giant ragweed leaf. These are very common normally but I haven’t noticed them so much this year.

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Ants and Treehoppers

Posted on August 14, 2012 by the roused bear

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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The Ants are Back

Posted on March 21, 2011 by the roused bear

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 the roused bear

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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Nature at its Ugliest

Posted on December 9, 2010 by the roused bear

Nature is not always beautiful or cute.  Sometimes it is cruel and ugly.  On July 14, 2010, while I was watching the mound of Formica exsectoides, I saw a very small form crawling up and down a blade of grass … Continue reading →

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Just Passing Through

Posted on December 8, 2010 by the roused bear

One day while I was watching the top of a mound of Formica exsectoides I saw a dark object rapidly moving across the mound, apparently carefully avoiding any ants or other creatures that could be found there.  I snapped a … Continue reading →

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A Pretty Good Ant Mimic

Posted on December 7, 2010 by the roused bear

While photographing the mound of the Allegheny mound ant I noticed what I thought was a black ant crawling on the grass that grows on the mound.  It was moving fairly rapidly, but I was able to get a few … Continue reading →

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Debris

Posted on December 6, 2010 by the roused bear

In April a cluster of debris could be seen on the outside of the mound, presumably brought up from inside.

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Photos From the Ant Mound

Posted on December 5, 2010 by the roused bear

When I photographed the visitors to the ant mound, I thought I would see some creatures that are dependant upon the ants to live–parasites, commensals, or symbiotic organisms.  But how do you determing that?  I’m not sure I saw much … Continue reading →

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An Ant Mound Through the Year

Posted on December 4, 2010 by the roused bear

This summer I spent a lot of time photographing some ants and their visitors around the nest of Allgeheny mound building ants, Formica exsectoides.  A lot about the ant is still a mystery to me, but I did learn a few … Continue reading →

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