Bottle-opener Ant

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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NikonUser
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Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:03 am
Location: southern New Brunswick, Canada

Bottle-opener Ant

Post by NikonUser »

I photographed this tiny ant, length 3.80 mm, running up a tree; Nikon D610 Nikon AF 200mm Macro-Nikkor + 5T close-up @ f22 (full frame, top).
It was in the center of the frame when I pushed the shutter!

Crop (middle).

I was not able to ID it in the field, collected and imaged at home. Apo-Componon 4/45 @ f/4 Zerene stack (bottom).

Turned out to be Dolichoderus plagiatus "The Mottled Dolichoderus".
This species has very small colonies of <100 workers, and the workers forage alone. I was indeed fortunate to find this worker.
There are only 4 NA species. Sometimes called "Bottle-opener Ants" on account of the characteristic shape of the middle portion of the body.
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NU.
student of entomology
Quote – Holmes on ‘Entomology’
” I suppose you are an entomologist ? “
” Not quite so ambitious as that, sir. I should like to put my eyes on the individual entitled to that name.
No man can be truly called an entomologist,
sir; the subject is too vast for any single human intelligence to grasp.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
The Poet at the Breakfast Table.

Nikon camera, lenses and objectives
Olympus microscope and objectives

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