Army Ant Week Post #1

In honor of Army Ant Week, I’m going to take a short break from my recent Costa Rica photos to post a few army ant photos.

June 7, 2004 | Barro Colorado Island, Panama

The only time I’ve ever seen an army ant bivouac was on a trip to Panama. I don’t recall if the photo above was of part of the bivouac or just an ant bridge somewhere along a foraging trail. My field notes were unfortunately lost in a house fire several years ago.

This could be Eciton hamatum, based on Alex Wild’s post today on that species. They are definitely orange, and I don’t recall being bitten or stung. If they are some other species, I’m sure I’ll be set straight in short order.

I encountered some army ants on my recent trip to Costa Rica, but I gave up on any photos. The few times I approached a column, they quickly started swarming up my boots.  It almost seemed like they had a sixth sense or something. Even though I wasn’t in their direct path, they always seemed to gravitate towards me.

I have some other army ant photos that I’ll try to post before Army Ant Week is over.

Also, don’t miss these army ant observations from about a year ago. At least I think they were army ants. I keep waiting for someone to tell me they were something else.

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6 Responses to Army Ant Week Post #1

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