spring in the colonies

...the promised sunshine and milder air arrived, as forecast, this afternoon, so I took a risk by swapping my wide angle lens for the 105mm macro. There weren't quite as many invertebrates around as I had hoped but it was great to see all the red wood ant colonies (Formica rufa) in s state of high activity. I always find it a dilemma when trying to choose between a shot of the whole nest or just detailing solitary specimens - hopefully, this image is a reasonable compromise...