The Best of Myrmecos 2008

In an earlier post I listed my favorite insect images of the year taken by other photographers.  Now it's my turn.  Here is the best of my own work over the last 12 months.

Laccophilus pictus, Arizona

Laccophilus pictus, Arizona

Dinoponera australis, Argentina

Dinoponera australis, Argentina

Parasitic Cotesia wasp attacks a Manduca larva

Parasitic Cotesia wasp attacks a Manduca larva

Polyrhachis schlueteri, South Africa

Polyrhachis schlueteri, South Africa

tricolor3

Crematogaster tricolor, South Africa

Weaver Ant (Oecophylla longinoda), South Africa

Weaver Ant (Oecophylla longinoda), South Africa

Rose Aphids (Macrosiphum rosae), Arizona

Rose Aphids (Macrosiphum rosae), Arizona

Thaumatomyrmex atrox, Venezuela

Thaumatomyrmex atrox, Venezuela

Simopelta queen and workers, Venezuela

Simopelta queen and workers, Venezuela

Pheidole obtusospinosa, Arizona

Pheidole obtusospinosa, Arizona

saltator8

Harpegnathos saltator, India

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By request, I have now organized the ant photos by subfamily.  This mimics the arrangement from the old site.  For the smug-muggers out there who want to know how it works, I basically set up an "old journal" gallery and put the genus names and links into the caption box.  I used CSS to set all…
Leptogenys attenuata In spite of the southern winter, the coastal forests of Kwazulu-Natal had plenty of ant activity to keep me occupied last week. In addition to the beautiful Polyrhachis I posted earlier, here are portraits of a few of the species I encountered. Crematogaster tricolor…
With 12,000 described species, ants dominate global terrestrial ecosystems. Here are a few of them. Name: Nothomyrmecia macrops Distribution: Australia Famous for: The story of its rediscovery (As told by Bill Bryson- scroll down) Name: Dinoponera australis Distribution: South America Famous…
Here's a sharper version: Parasitic Cotesia wasp attacks a Manduca larva The story itself is amazing.  It's been known for some time that Ichneumonid and Braconid wasps inject circular strands of DNA- called polydnaviruses- into their host insects along with their eggs.  This DNA is encoded…

Great stuff! Looking forward to the beginning of next year's work. My five year old daughter loves looking through the photos as well; you never know where that could lead.

Thanks Geoff!

Ted- You've chosen the ant with mandibles most like those of tiger beetles. Coincidence?

Wonderful, Alex! Congratulations for another year of amazing photos! Hope you keep providing us with your excellent contributions in myrmecology and nature photography.

All the best,

Rodrigo

By Rodrigo Feitosa (not verified) on 17 Dec 2008 #permalink

f'ing awesome

Fantastic! I am sure there were some other 100's that could have been here too.

Vivement 2009!

Benoit

1 and 7 = bestivus for the restivus.

By ihateaphids (not verified) on 17 Dec 2008 #permalink

p.s. 7 is so much more bestivus

By ihateaphids (not verified) on 17 Dec 2008 #permalink

Alex

You have set a very high standard but of all the images I have seen from you there is only one that images that has it all it called Lonely it just has very thing and I am surprise that it is not among your finest.

By Jack Jumper (not verified) on 17 Dec 2008 #permalink

Fantastic work Alex! Someday when I get rich, I'm going to buy some prints for my home office. But for now while I'm dirt poor, I'll just enjoy your blog for free (sorry!).

So cool! I can't pick a favorite!

Best Wishes - Jesse