Monday, May 12, 2008

Photo Friday - Professional

Ant society is very well organised . many ants have specialised roles such as nursemaids, farmers [of aphids and fungi], hunters, workers and soldiers.

The least known ant specialism is the probably that of the undertaker ants, who carry the dead bodies of their colleagues out of the ant nest and bury them in a safe place.

This is important to prevent the spread of infection and epidemics within the ant nest.


I watched this undertaker ant carry the body up and down rocks before eventually burying the body and covering the burial place with dead leaves.



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the wonderful pics. Ant society really is endlessly fascinating. Have you ever seen leafcutter ants?

Magpie Magic said...

Love the pictures. Like always they're great. What I like most about this is that you get the info with it so I don't have to go and look it up. LOL

Alison Ashwell said...

Joy - I've seen leaf cutter ants in documentaries but not in real life.
I would love to see them as they have always fascinated me

magpie magic - lol I sharing information and researching stuff I don't know so I'm glad that other folk appreciate it