Contact: Mari N. Jensen
mnjensen@email.arizona.edu
520-626-9635
University of Arizona

Rock Ant Colony in Efficiency Experiment

Caption: A colony of rock ants, Temnothorax albipennis, inside the artificial colony, a cutout in a piece of gray cardboard sandwiched between two glass slides. The number written on the upper slide is the colony's id number. The workers have been color-coded with model airplane glue. The large ant without paint on her is the queen. The white grains in the lower left-hand corner of the picture are the brood -- eggs and larvae. The purple grains of sand are the wall the ants build to protect the colony. The dead fruit fly in the upper right is probably going to become ant food.

Credit: Anna Dornhaus

Usage Restrictions: This photo may only be used to illustrate a story about the research described in this release.

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