11 December 2010

Conjoined... ants !!

Via Brazilian myrmecologist Rodrigo Feitosa comes this shot of conjoined leafcutter ant sisters. Two fully grown adult ants dorsally fused from abdominal segments 3 onward.

Incredibly, this developmental oddity was observed carrying leaf fragments in a foraging trail.
Via Myrmecos, which has LOTS of information about ants.  Photo credit: Rodrigo Feitosa.

3 comments:

  1. Amazing that that thing was able to function. It probably thought it was just like the other guys(the word thought being a metaphor here).

    ReplyDelete
  2. If a normal one can carry up to three times its own weight, How much do you think this one could haul around?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it is sad that he probably killed it just to take a picture.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...