Camponotus Ant Tending Aphids

I found this Camponotus Ant (thanks Alex for pointing out the correct ID for the ant) on hibiscus branch which was tending aphids.

I used Rayflash ring flash adapter attached to Canon Speedlite 580EX II which gave a far smoother light for the ant. The effect was far better than Canon MT-24EX macro twin light flash.

Some ants “farm” aphids, protecting them on the plants they eat, eating the honeydew that the aphids release from the terminations of their alimentary canals. This is a “mutualistic relationship”. These “dairying ants” “milk” the aphids by stroking them with their antennae. Therefore, sometimes aphids are called “ant cows”.

Some farming ant species gather and store the aphid eggs in their nests over the winter. In the spring, the ants carry the newly-hatched aphids back to the plants. Some species of ants manage large “herds” of aphids that feed on roots of plants in the ant colony. Queens that are leaving to start a new colony take an aphid egg to found a new herd of underground aphids in the new colony. These farming ants protect the aphids by fighting off aphid predators.

It was common at one time to suggest that the cornicles were the source of the honeydew, and this was even included in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary and the 2008 edition of the World Book Encyclopedia. In fact, honeydew secretions are produced from the anus of the aphid, while cornicles mostly produce defensive chemicals such as waxes.

Aphids, also known as plant lice or greenflies, are small plant-eating insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions. The damage they do to plants has made them enemies of farmers and gardeners the world over, but from a purely zoological standpoint they are a very successful group of organisms.

Yellow Chested Carpenter Bee

The newly acquired Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM lens has proved great while taking fast flying insects like these carpenter bees. They don’t stop at any flower, zooming from one to another Rattleweed plants (Crotalaria retusa). Carpenter bees are known to rob nectar by slitting the sides of flowers with deep corollas. Their name comes from the fact that nearly all species build their nests in burrows in dead wood, bamboo, or structural timbers (except those in the subgenus Proxylocopa, which nest in the ground).

Carpenter bees are traditionally considered solitary bees, though some species have simple social nests in which mothers and daughters may cohabit. However, even solitary species tend to be gregarious, and often several will nest near each other. It has been occasionally reported that when females cohabit, there may be a division of labor between them, where one female may spend most of her time as a guard within the nest, motionless and near the entrance, while another female spends most of her time foraging for provisions.
Carpenter Bee nest in a tree trunk

Carpenter bees make nests by tunneling into wood, vibrating their bodies as they rasp their mandibles against the wood, each nest having a single entrance which may have many adjacent tunnels. The entrance often is a perfectly circular hole on the underside of a beam or tree limb. Carpenter bees do not eat wood. They discard the bits of wood, or re-use particles to build partitions between cells. The tunnel functions as a nursery for brood and the pollen/nectar upon which the brood subsists. The provision masses of some species are among the most complex in shape of any group of bees; whereas most bees fill their brood cells with a soupy mass, and others form simple spheroidal pollen masses, Xylocopa form elongate and carefully sculpted masses that have several projections which keep the bulk of the mass from coming into contact with the cell walls, sometimes resembling an irregular caltrop. The eggs are very large relative to the size of the female, and are some of the largest eggs among all insects.

Metallic Black Carpenter Bee

I spotted two variety of Carpenter bees, one which was having yellow chest which is quite often confused with bumble bees. Most carpenter bees have a shiny abdomen, while in bumblebees the abdomen is completely clothed with dense hairOther was a classic blue eyed black metallic carpenter bee. These bees belong to Xylocopa Genus. I was not able to determine the exact species.

Fatal Attraction

I was trying to test Canon EF 300mm f/4.0 L IS USM which was courteously provided by Shivashankar with my Canon EF 1.4x II Extender when I spotted these mating Common Grass Yellows(Eurema hecabe) on a Peacock Flower (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) plant. On closer inspection there was this dark brown spider stuck on the head of the male. I wanted to capture the whole sequence so I quickly changed to my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro with Canon MT-24EX macro twin light flash and captured the whole sequence. I have posted 4 most interesting shots from this sequence.

Fatal Attraction

This Adanson’s House Jumper (Hasarius adansoni) had caught hold of the male by the head while in the act of mating. It had killed it and is now proceeding towards the female which was still stuck to the mate.

Fatal Attraction

It was a precarious perch for the spider as it had to manage the dead body of one and struggling butterfly on the other. The female was desperately trying to escape from the clutches of the spider but was unable to do. Spider manage to twist and turn the body of the dead male and lurched forward to reach for the female.

Fatal Attraction

After nearly 15 minutes of struggle the female managed to tire out the spider and gain the upright position. With bit more struggle she was able to release herself from the mate and fly away free and alive. It was such an awesome sight that I was amazed how she managed to do that.