Zombie Ant
This is a real life zombie, a tropical ant species infected by a cordycep fungus. The fungus infects the ant, who then walks around like a zombie until it finds the perfect perch to die on. The ant usually bites the base of a leaf and dies, the fungus then sprouting out a storma, eventually casting a spray of spores in that area to infect the next line of victims. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreBullet Ants (Paraponera clavata)
This last trip to Panama was definitely the trip of the Bullet Ants (Paraponera clavata) according to RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser as there was a lot of activity with this species. On some of the nights hikes our crew saw upwards of a hundred individuals, even getting to watch the activity of a nest at the base of an enormous tree. Male soldiers with wings started to fly into the main research hut! It may feel like we will never see ants again in some of our below zero and snow-covered backyards, but they will be out in full force again soon enough. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean...
Read MoreSpotted Antbirds (Hylophylax naevioides)
I thought I would share a couple of pairs today for Valentine’s Day, the first being this female and male Spotted Antbird (Hylophylax naevioides) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser. As Sean tells it they are a species that follows army ant swarms, feeding on a wide variety of insects that the ants turn up. In the Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama there are a wide variety of antbird species that inhabit the mature secondary and lowland primary forest. This duo was photographed by Sean for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory...
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