sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I came across a colony thousands of ant-like critters in a rotted log that I turned over in the woods scouting for insects. It is not like the common ants that I see and they have bands of dark brown on their lighter brown bodies. Perhaps they are a type of termite.

I am posing a full body side view session and hope to post it later today and perhaps someone can help identify them.

Thanks in advance to all who view and your comments, suggestions and critique are highly appreciated.

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Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Ant.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

Did they smell lemony?
Bill

rwilson1942 Loc: Houston, TX

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Bill, I can't really say for I was scouting in the woods during a windstorm so I gather a few specimens and got out. There were mostly two sizes in the colony with one being about twice the size of the others. I would guess that there were seven small ones to each larger one. This is one of the larger ones. They were nested in a rotting log in a mass.

I swept some up with a small artist brush that I carry into a container and put it in my pocket. A bit later I hoped that the lid was on tight for not to end up with "ants in my pants".

napabob Loc: Napa CA

nicely done..........

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, the tiny insects pose the challenge of getting a pin through them and getting them into position for the camera. It is quite difficult for me to get their legs into any position for they are so small and fragile so they end up looking omley-gomley at times like this one is.

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

The small and large are normal. There may be numerous castes of ants from one queen. Workers control the queen, or rather the food fed to the larva, to produce needed caste numbers. In these, the number of larva nurses increase in spring. They are smaller than normal and can better take care of larva. Spring means more larva produced, so more nurses need.
Holdober and Wilson Ant Book.
Bill

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

How did you take the picture? Were you using something like an MPE-65, microscope, or what? Did you use flash?

newtoyou Loc: Eastport

If I may, I am Bill. I follow sippyjug (Gary). I suggest going back a few weeks and come forward. He explains in detail his methodology.
Some quite simple and accessable. Enjoy this macro section. Eye-opening.
Bill

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks for viewing and for asking. Bill and I have been corresponding for quite some time now so he is very familiar with my setup and techniques.

I use a Nikon D810 camera although any digital camera with interchangeable lens will do. I attach a an inexpensive microscope objective to an extension tube to obtain a 160mm total distance from the camera's sensor to the front of the microscope objective (Amscope PLAN 4X Achromatic $26.00). The extension tubes and adapter fittings were approximately $20 for them all.

The lighting that I use are two IKEA LED desk lamps ($14.00 each) and I use two 2-oz. Dixie Cups stacked together with a white paper towel between them to diffuse the light. I place a piece of black velvet cloth behind the subject to achieve the black background (cloth is not shown in these photos for clarity of setup details).

I use an assortment of specimen holders to hold, tilt and orbit into the position that I need. The green sliding work table moves in X and Y directions in fine increments. It's made for hobbyist drill press or milling machines ($36.00). The stainless steel laboratory scissor jack to elevate the specimen was $14.00 and the X and Y 4-way macro rail mounted on the end of the sliding work table was $24.00.

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newtoyou Loc: Eastport

I must admit, the clutter shows well on download.😁🤐
Bill

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Bill, now you see why the Mrs. wants me to clean my room, which I will in time.

Some folks have a "filing system" where everything is stored away somewhere and you have to know exactly where. I have a "piling system" which means whatever I'm looking for, regardless of what it is, it's in the pile.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

who