Ant evacuation!

I have never blipped the same type of bug two days in a row - till today! Yesterday I did a Bull ant blip, and today I am blipping a group of common old Aussie garden ants. However I am taking heed of advice from Dave Vodkaman to try to show a macro in the context of some other object, when possible, to give an indication of size.

This afternoon when turning on the recently repaired sprinkler system for the first time in 6 months, we immediately noticed a colony of ants emerging from under one of the dripper valves on the hose line. No doubt we had disturbed them and their families and flooded their home.

The ants started to scurry up and along the hose pipe in great desperation as they attempted to evacuate the area with their larvae. These ants, with one carrying a larvae sack much bigger and heavier than himself, immediately caught my eye. See the evacuation much better in LARGE.

The plastic hose pipe would be just under one inch in diameter or say 2 cms thick. This gives an idea of the size of the ants related to the size of a standard garden irrigation hose.

The larva is largely immobile and is fed and cared for by workers. In this case I am almost certain that the largest ant, who is carrying a sack of larvae, is heading for safer ground. Food is given to the larvae by adults who share food, stored in the "social stomach".

Larvae may also be provided with solid food such as eggs, pieces of prey, and seeds brought back by foraging workers. Larvae and pupae need to be kept at fairly constant temperatures to ensure proper development, and so often, are moved around among the various brood chambers within the colony.