Posted by Mark Fellowes on October 28, 2007 at 2:36 PM
Hi everyone
These are blood red slave-making ants, Formica sanguinea. They're an under-recorded species, and these were members of a colony I photographed regularly last month on a local heath. They're one of the UK's largest ant species, and are pretty impressive. They raid other ant species nests to steal young, which then act as slaves, helping feed their new colony. In this case, they were 'milking' birch aphids - a few nymphs can be seen towards the bottom of the image.
excellent image mark....i've tried getting ants right several times in the amazon and never managed it very well, even the easy ones that are nearly the size of a small antelope. especially like the way the three faces are in focus.
mark
Posted by Paul Gibbs on October 28, 2007 at 6:15 PM
Nice image, interesting too, as i wasnt awareof this species before! I had heard of this raiding but didnt know it was from a UK species.
Posted by Andy Astbury on October 29, 2007 at 4:43 AM
Great capture Mark
I had no idea these were a UK species either
Posted by Andy Shepherd on October 29, 2007 at 8:07 AM
Hi Mark,
Very nice image , I too didn't know these we're a UK species , thanks for sharing.
Regards
Andy...
Posted by Andy Bate on October 29, 2007 at 8:18 AM
nice capture, do you like the kenko extension tubes, thinking of getting some??
Posted by Mark Fellowes on October 30, 2007 at 5:13 AM
Hi Andy
The Kenko tubes are a doddle - all automatic features are retained. I find it relatively straight forward to just stick the shorter ones on and use my usual set up handheld, but longer, or in combination, means support is essential. To be honest, they're a bit insubstantial, and rattle a lot, but they fit snugly and do the job. I haven't tried them with a longer lens though - I'm thinking about that for fungi after seeing some of the shots here.
Cheers
Mark
Posted by John Varley on November 1, 2007 at 4:43 PM
Very nice shot Mark. Always been interested in ants - but this is a species I have never seen - great looking.
Discussion
8 repliesThese are blood red slave-making ants, Formica sanguinea. They're an under-recorded species, and these were members of a colony I photographed regularly last month on a local heath. They're one of the UK's largest ant species, and are pretty impressive. They raid other ant species nests to steal young, which then act as slaves, helping feed their new colony. In this case, they were 'milking' birch aphids - a few nymphs can be seen towards the bottom of the image.
Thanks for looking
Mark
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Techs: Nikon D80; micro Nikkor VR 105, 36mm Kenko extension tube, Sigma DG500Super flash with diffuser; reflector, bean bag. F11 @ 1/100. Prosessed in PS CS2; crop, levels, curves, USM.
excellent image mark....i've tried getting ants right several times in the amazon and never managed it very well, even the easy ones that are nearly the size of a small antelope. especially like the way the three faces are in focus.
mark
I had no idea these were a UK species either
Very nice image , I too didn't know these we're a UK species , thanks for sharing.
Regards
Andy...
The Kenko tubes are a doddle - all automatic features are retained. I find it relatively straight forward to just stick the shorter ones on and use my usual set up handheld, but longer, or in combination, means support is essential. To be honest, they're a bit insubstantial, and rattle a lot, but they fit snugly and do the job. I haven't tried them with a longer lens though - I'm thinking about that for fungi after seeing some of the shots here.
Cheers
Mark