It was a nice breeze to start the day here. And we could see on the radar that there was a chance of rain. So we carried our umbrellas just in case on the morning walk. Today I have found ants and aphids, but alas no rain.
Our Bur Oak had these little guys on its leaves! They are Acrobat Ants (Crematogaster)! There are 28 species in North America.
The unusual heart shaped gaster (the black part) distinguishes this genus. These are the workers. The queen nests in decaying tree stumps, limbs or fallen logs.
The ants are only about 3mm so I would say tiny! I had to look carefully. Maybe you have already noticed what they were doing on the leaf. They were busily feeding on the honeydew from the really tiny aphids!
Remember I said the aphids were tiny too. To illustrate how small they are, here is a size comparison. The aphids are probably less than a 1 mm.
In this shot, notice the worker in the center bottom. Another characteristic of this genus is that it raises the gaster above the body when disturbed. “This is a defense posture used to avert enemies.” (Source: https://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/urban-pests/ants/acrobat/)
Can I say they were busy bees?
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
6 Comments
Looks as tho the ants are grooming their faces and antennas!
Looks as tho the ants are grooming their faces and antennas!
You know as I have been looking closer at insects, I have observed similar on other insects.
Busy bees haha 😏
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome!
Thanks Alan!