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Southern wood ant (Formica rufa)


Southern wood ant (Formica rufa)
Photo Information
Copyright: Paul Haynes (PaulH) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1033 W: 26 N: 3000] (10824)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-05-31
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS400D, Sigma EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 APO DG Macro, 58mm UV
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/400 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-06-02 1:46
Viewed: 501
Points: 32
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Hello,

whilst walking back along the shoreline from an early morning walk at Arne Nature Reserve near Poole, we came across the remains of this shell being devoured by a group of frenetic Wood Ants. It was interesting to watch them at work, wasting nothing of this bounty they had found and i was suprised at their size, some were up to 10mm long with quite stocky bodies.

Some info about the Southern Wood Ant:

Nests of the southern wood ant are usually located along woodland rides and clearings where they can intercept the spring and early summer sunshine. This insolation appears to be critical to initiating colony activity and brood development after winter. Nests will also encroach from woodland onto more open heath and scrub. Each nest may contain over 100,000 workers, several queens and, from May to July, winged gynes and males. Different nests can be interlinked by trails to form huge colonies. The workers also form long trails to trees bearing honeydew-producing Homoptera, which they tend. They will also scavenge and take invertebrate prey. Honeydew forms a key component of their diet and the presence of suitable trees and Homoptera may be a limiting factor on populations. The southern wood ant is found across the Palaearctic from southern Europe and the Caucasus to approximately 63 degrees north.
The southern wood ant is a conspicuous ant of southern British woodlands with large aggressive workers and a prominent nest mound. As such it is relatively well recorded and studied. Populations occur locally in Wales and England as far north as Cumbria and Northumberland.
It is, however, most common in southern England, particularly in south Devon, south Dorset, Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. Suitable woodlands in such areas may support strong, and even increasing, populations of the species. However, there is also evidence of a contraction of its range, particularly in northern and eastern England, the Midlands and North Wales, where a number of smaller isolated populations have reportedly become extinct. In North Wales and northern England the range of the southern wood ant overlaps with that of the hairy wood ant, F. lugubris, so care should be taken in determining specimens from these areas.
In Great Britain this species is classified as Local. It is classified by the IUCN (1996) as globally Near Threatened.

General Ant Facts:

Global Domination:

 There are more ants roaming around the world than any other creature on the planet.

 Ants account for 10% of all the animal tissue on earth.

 The combined weight of all the ants on earth would total more than the combined weight of all the humans.

 Despite finding ants in almost every corner of the British Isles, ants usually live in very warm climates.

Intelligence:

 Relative to their size, ants have the largest brain of any insect.

 An ant has 250,000 brain cells, compared to 10 billion for a human.

 It has been calculated that an ant's brain has more processing power than the computer that controlled the first Apollo space missions.

 By studying the behaviour of ants, scientists have discovered that they are capable of finding their way out of very complex mazes.


Food:

 Ants are omnivorous, which means that they will eat absolutely anything that is edible.

 Despite having relatively huge and powerful jaws, an adult ant doesn't actually chew it's food. Instead, it squeezes and sucks the juice from it.

 Ants use scent trails to mark out paths to food, so that their fellow ants can easily find their next meal.

Posted 'as shot', converted from RAW to JPEG, resized and sharpened.
eng55, Argus, eqshannon, uleko, SueThomson, marhowie, NinaM, anel, cicindela has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Paul
Good clear detail on photo and interesting notes. These guys really look mean!! Would'n like to go to close to their teretory!! Well done Paul
Betsie

Amazing close up shot,great detail and colour.An insight into another world!

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 353 W: 3 N: 376] (1127)
  • [2008-06-02 3:28]

Hi Paul,
Beautiful capture of this ants.Well caught and composed.
Thaks for posting.

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2615 W: 133 N: 7512] (23431)
  • [2008-06-02 4:17]

Hello Paul,
A superb macro of a group of Southern Wood Ants with outstanding sharpness showing much detail from different angles on different individuals. Excellent lighting and composition too.
TFS this real goodie,
Ivan

You MUST tell me how you got those little symbols down there at the bottom of the notes..or is that one of those things which shows up differently on a countries keyboard/screen?

As to the image...it looks totally like film and like old school film done by some one of the masters who lived in our desert SW. There is a quality to it which I have seen a number of times in images by a lady whose name I forget...dang it..but who lived and breathed in the desert and shot images quite like this on 4x5 larger format cameras...VERY well seen!
Bob

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2470 W: 168 N: 7478] (23630)
  • [2008-06-02 7:53]

Hello Paul,
Nothing goes to waste if there are Ants around - we have plenty here! I've never seen them having a fiest along the shore though! Excellent capture in beautiful light and showing great details and fine colours. Very well observed!
Many thanks and cheers, Ulla

Hello Paul,
Very good sharpness and well composed.
Good depth and light as well..
TFS
Annick

  • Great 
  • gannu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 929 W: 4 N: 2322] (10812)
  • [2008-06-02 9:36]

Hello Paul, Are they doing some board meeting? Nice view of these ants. Superb note Ganesh

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 0 N: 4842] (14380)
  • [2008-06-02 14:24]

Hi Paul

Well seen and captured - great POV combuned with an effective POV.

James

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1714 W: 24 N: 4988] (16346)
  • [2008-06-02 23:05]

Hi Paul,
Great National Geographic image and you show a fabulous perspective here. Like the way the Wood Ants are busy devouring that remains of the shell. Very neat and sharp image with nice colours and details. Great lighting and you portray the moment so beautifully. Excellent POV and composition. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

Hi Paul
An interesting shot with good sharp detail. Enjoyed reading your note....there is more to ants than meet the eye!

Hi Paul, splendid macro with a lot of ants, great details and excellent sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

Hi Paul,
The cleaning crew looks like it's doing a great job..like the photographer here :)
It's an interesting scene provided by the shells curved surface and your chosen POV.
Love the group action I see and the spotlit effect, nice light.
Very well done,
Howard

  • Great 
  • NinaM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 567 W: 0 N: 1397] (4619)
  • [2008-06-03 17:23]

Great "as shot" photo Paul. And very interesting notes too. And not only is it interesting, it is also very well composed, the light beaming among the ants is beautiful and the pov perfect. I like it very much!

Francine

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1175 W: 0 N: 1980] (8407)
  • [2008-06-07 4:22]

Hello Paul,
Missed this picture of busy ants around and in a shell. I like ants very much and in front of my chalet I have a big anthill which I observe regulary. It grows from year to year. Amazing insects indeed. You confirm it with your excellent note. Thanks
Bonne journée
Anne

Hello Paul!
This is lovely picture! I like low POV and perfect shapness. And moreover, these small instecs are presented during their normal life - looking for food.
By the way, I have also a question. You noted in the note many interesting details about ants. It is possible to receive any details about sourse of these informations? I am especially interested in data about size of ant's brain :) Many thanks in advance for the answer :)
Best regards from Lodz!
Radomir

PS. I'll be back :)

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