982 replies to this topic

[gs5248]

I agree! 

[ConcordAntman]

The snow is mostly gone but it’s still cold enough outside that I don’t relish rooting around under stick and stone to shoot any early risers. Yesterday was feeding day so I took another look at my charges. My C. novaeboracensis queen seems to be soldiering on. She lost 4 nanitics over diapause, only 2 remain but she’s guarding a decent clutch of eggs. I hope she can get to 15-20 nanitics by fall. This was hard to shoot. AC’s plastic test tubes scratch easily and scatter light. The combination of high f-stop for greater depth of field with the flash and fill lighting took more Lightroom processing than I usually use. 
 

 

 

The dinner bell is ringing for my C. pennsylvanicus and mama doesn’t want any skinny daughters in this colony!

 

 

 

So, can anyone explain why these sisters are fighting? I watched this ant with her mandibles clamped to her sister’s leg being dragged around their outworld for almost an hour!

 

 

 

Everyone came out for a bite to eat, from my most voracious colony, to my newest C. pennsylvanicus 

 

 

and C. americanus, my most timid foragers

 

 

 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

Great shots as always! I’ve seen larger formicines do this when they sense something wrong with a sister. It usually means the one getting dragged around is ailing somehow and close to death.

[ConcordAntman]

 Wait, which is the one at risk, the one being dragged or the one doing the dragging?  Time for me to take out Hölldobler & Wilson and do some reading!

 

 

Well, that was educational but not necessarily informative on the question at hand. Hölldobler & Wison’s The Ants had sections on aggression but not this specific type of dragging behavior. Dragging (either by the mandible, gaster, or mesosoma) was usually an inter-colony aggressive behavior. When employed as an intra-colony behavior, it was usually part of a more elaborate colony relocation or evacuation. I just found one paper that looked at dragging as an indicator of aggressive colony behavior (specifically removing dead and infected workers from the nest)  https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC3310061/ It suggests the dragger is the one protecting the colony from the diseased one being dragged. In the case of my picture, the aggressor is clamped on the leg of the suspect ant. She’s just doing an exceedingly poor job 

Edited by ConcordAntman, March 6 2021 - 12:05 PM.

[Skwiggledork]

First semi- successful attempt at photo/focus stacking.

[ConcordAntman]

I’m impressed! I’ll have to read up on the technique. 

[Ants_Dakota]

Santa brought me a Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for a Nikon F-mount but we’ve still got 18” of snow on the ground. Here’s some of my first shots. Unfortunately no new species but I can’t wait to get this outside in the spring! I’ve had this C. pennsylvanicus colony since May 2018. They’ve just been out 10 days and she’s back to laying!

 

aakant, your C. americanus are still soldiering on

 

 

i know americanus are more red up north, but i like that color variation, which is the same we have in the midwest. that mellow yellow is really cool.

[ConcordAntman]

My two C. pennsylvanicus colonies are growing by leaps and bounds. My May 2018 colony has eggs, larvae and pupae covering 4 chambers. I’m waiting for my annex nest to be built!

 

My June 2020 colony has spread their brood over one of the water towers. 

My C. novaeboracensis has a pile of eggs but no larvae or pupae as of yet. She’s down to one nanitic, the other one got tangled in a cotton strand and died. The only colony with no brood is my C. americanus but she’s been slow to lay each season. I’ll expect the first eclosures in about 3 weeks.

Feeding day is chaotic but fun. My largest colony now usually has 20-30 workers wandering through the outworld. Without Fluon, it’s tough to clean water and feed them without escapes! I’ve been quickly convinced of the value of a good climbing barrier. My C. pennsylvanicus like crickets 

 

but this one loves cricket legs!  

 

 

 

 

 

[M_Ants]

 

 

[NickAnter]

Beautiful.

[ConcordAntman]

M_Ants, great shot! What is your setup?

[ConcordAntman]

Hauling food for the colony 

 

Cooperative lifting 

 

[BugFinder]

Hauling food for the colony 

 

 

Cooperative lifting 

what did you use to get those photos?

[ConcordAntman]

Nikon D500 with a SB 700 flash, Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra macro, and a fill light. 1/250th sec, f/22, ISO 560. 

[ConcordAntman]

From my last feeding session 3 days ago

 

[Abdul]

Nylanderia sp. workers with   on their gaster.

Any tips for budget macro lens for a newbie?




 

[ConcordAntman]

What for, phone, DSLR, or mirrorless?

[Abdul]

What for, phone, DSLR, or mirrorless?

Idk which one. DSLR or mirrorless. It's between 200D or M50 mark ii.

[ConcordAntman]

I shoot Nikon but from what I’ve read Canon has perhaps a wider selection of cameras and lenses for the nature photographer on both a telephoto and macro level. I’m a fan of Alex Wild who shoots Canon. 

https://www.alexanderwild.com/

He regularly posts on his website and in Scientific American. You might check his stuff out for ideas. Also look at his Compound Eye posts in Scientific American. I tried to emulate some of the kit he outlined in the link below with Nikon equipment. 

https://blogs.scient...tography-trade/

I have 2 macros. An AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED and a Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO. I find the 100+ mm lenses gives an easier working distance to the insect. I’ve only been shooting macro a bit over 2 years and only marginally knowledgeable. I find the autofocus and vibration reduction a boon in capturing shots though the pros advise otherwise. Wild has an MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro that is his go-to lens but it’s over $1000. There’s no other 1-5x macro that I could find. Even he says to use it properly demands experience and a pretty steep learning curve. The Laowa is an affordable compromise that I’m learning to use (hey the photography bug ain’t cheap). It’s fully manual, focus and aperture, so it is harder to use than my automated Nikon 105mm but it’s sharp and has the potential for 2x magnification. 

Final point, to get reasonable depth of field I find I’m often shooting at a high f-stop so both a fill light and flash are vital. A filter can also help soften the harshness of the lighting. Well, that’s my two cents. 

Edited by ConcordAntman, March 26 2021 - 11:17 AM.

[gs5248]

Are those macro lenses you clip onto your phone any good for taking pictures of ants?