Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
If you’ve ever wondered why Crematogaster acrobat ants have such an odd shape, take a look at this: In Uganda’s Kibale Forest last summer, I smeared a bit of cookie cream along a rock as ant bait. A pleasingly yellow Crematogaster soon arrived to feed. All was well until a second species, in the big-headed ant genus Pheidole, attempted [...]
Most of us think of beetles as heavily armored and often colorful tank-like animals. But they aren’t born that way. Like all insects with complete metamorphosis, beetles start as grublike larvae bearing little resemblance to the adults. I photographed these two immature rove beetles while searching for ants in a rotting log. photo details: Canon MP-E [...]
A grisly scene in Kibale forest, Uganda: I found this long-dead cadaver stuck to a tree trunk at about waist height. The body must have been there for months or even years, judging from the moss growing across the cuticle. Why is this puzzling? Rainforests are intensely competitive environments, and free protein does not stick [...]
Continuing our series of First-Ever-Photographs, after some research I suspect I have taken the first live images of the African tree-dwelling ant Terataner: If you know of other photographs, speak up! I’ve been unable to find any online, nor in the scant technical literature on this genus. The crew at Ant Course 2012 collected a twig [...]
If you’ve been following Myrmecos, you might know I was lucky to instruct this summer’s Ant Course in Uganda. Unsurprisingly, it was epic. And I’ve got the photos to prove it: Photographs from Ant Course/Uganda During the 10-day course I took 5,280 exposures. After culling and processing, as of this afternoon I have uploaded 202 of the [...]
Myrmecologists, being only human (most of the time), have an irrational fondness for the proceratiine genus Discothyrea. Why? Have a look, and try not be overwhelmed by the cuteness of a pudgy muppet ant: Discothyrea occurs in tropical climates around the globe, but as they are extremely small (1-2mm long), and as they live ensconced in soil [...]
Continuing our series of “the first photographs of X”, below are what I suspect to be the first living photographs taken of the rare subterranean ant Probolomyrmex: Ant Course in Uganda was phenomonal. There’s nothing like having 40 keen sets of eyeballs out searching for ants in an understudied tropical forest for 10 days. Under [...]
As far as I know, I’ve just uploaded the first living photographs ever taken of the rare African ant Aenictogiton. Go see. Based on genetics and morphology, this creature is probably an army ant. Someone will have to spend time finding and watching the ever-elusive workers to confirm, though. This individual was one of the treasures collected [...]
One perk of anting in Uganda was the lovely little Strumigenys lujae. Ants of this genus are cryptic and difficult to find in most parts of the world, yet in our corner of Africa S. lujae were in every rotting log and thick in the leaf litter. I’ve posted a few new photos to my Strumigenys [...]
Now that I am back on the blog, let’s reintroduce the Friday Beetle! Enjoying a snack break along a trail one morning in Uganda’s Kibale forest, I looked up to see a bizarre creature peering over the top of a leaf. I’d never seen anything like it. The animal was strange enough that I dropped [...]
A personal blog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net; or follow @Myrmecos on Twitter.
