Vicinus Carpenter Ant

At lunch today I had some time to get outside into the crisp, cool air and luxurious bright warm sun. I noticed some plants that were going to seed in the adjacent field. I thought I'd photograph them for my blip today.

I studied the bushes carefully as I moved among them looking for one with just the right fluffy seeds. One bush had these very colorful red and black ants moving around the seed heads. I carefully positioned myself so as to take advantage of the sunlight and avoid any shadows. I set my little camera for a macro shot, composed the picture carefully and waited with my finger resting on the shutter button for the ant to move into position for the photo. Of course, the ant had other plans.

No worries as there were lots of photogenic ants on this plant. I thought this was a bit curious, as the other nearby bushes were ant free, but I was determined to get a photo of one of these critters among the newly formed seeds. Several more failed efforts occurred before an ant finally stopped his frenetic activity long enough for me to push the shutter button on the attached image.

A pretty good photo if I do say so myself, the sweet reward for my perseverance and patience while standing absolutely still for 10 minutes... on an ANT HILL! Fortunately, the ants running all over my shoes seemed to have no interest in climbing up my legs.