User:Jonkerz/Museum

The Starry Night, van Gogh, 1888

Wisteria (part of Water Lilies), Monet, 1925

Montagne Sainte-Victoire, Blick vom Steinbruch Bibémus, Cézanne, c. 1897

Impression, Sunrise, Monet, 1872

The Bibémus Quarry, Cézanne, 1885

Wheat Field with Cypresses, van Gogh, 1889

The Large Pine, Cézanne, 1890-1896

View of Toledo, El Greco, 1596-1600

Charing Cross Bridge, Monet, 1901

Starry Night Over the Rhone, van Gogh, 1888

A single colony of the army ant species Eciton burchellii may consist of over two million individuals

Some species of ants "farm" aphids, protecting them on the plants they eat

Honeypot ants are gorged with food by workers to the point that their abdomens swell enormously. Other ants then extract nourishment from them. They function as living larders.

The pain caused by the string of the bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) is purported to be greater than that of any other hymenopteran, and is ranked as the most painful according to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, given a "4+" rating

A bivouac is a structure formed by migratory army ant colonies. Here an Eciton sp. colony is forming a bridge.

The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is an invasive species, thought to live in "mega-colonies"; one in Europe is stretching 6,000 km along the Mediterranean coast

Camponotus saundersi workers can explode suicidally as an ultimate act of defense^[1]

Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina pictured) make nests in trees made of leaves stitched together using the silk produced by their larvae

Another weaver ant with an unusual jaw and antennae suspiciously similar to a pair of legs. Nice try Myrmarachne plataleoides; this is actually a spider pretending to be an ant.

Trap-jaw ants (genus Odontomachus) have the fastest moving predatory appendages within the animal kingdom^[2]

Loved by ant people, hated by trees and leaf collectors; leafcutter ants do not actually eat leaves themselves, but use them to grow fungi

Another leafcutter ant, Acromyrmex balzani, carrying a leaf

A green ant...

...and some orange ants.

The black garden ant (Lasius niger) is one of the most common ant species found in gardens in Europe

Lasius umbratus queens seek out an L. niger worker, kill it to gain the its scent and then discreetly sneak inside its nest to kill the L. niger queen; the workers will care for the new queen's larvae and slowly the colony will become one of L. umbratus.

Harvester ants (genus Messor pictured) increase seed dispersal by collecting seeds and storing them in granaries in their nests

The typical colony consists of one or more egg-laying queens, a large number of workers and, seasonally, winged sexual males and females. Here a plaster cast is shown.

The characteristic jumping motion when in an agitated state gives the jack jumper ants (Myrmecia pilosula) their name

Meat ants (Iridomyrmex purpureus) feeding on a cicada

"food robbery and nest-plugging is known to occur" between the meat ant and its competitor, the banded sugar ant (pictured carrying a cocoon)

The venom of Pogonomyrmex maricopa is believed to be the most toxic insect venom in the world^[3]

The tiny pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) is a major pest in hospitals and office blocks; it can make nests between sheets of paper

Turtle ants (Cephalotes clypeatus) at nest entrance

This ant is made out of gold, really. It has been "sputter coated" with gold to increase visibility for scanning electron microscopy.

Camponotus sericeiventris on the other hand really is golden, although not made of gold (better image)

Many forms of green-head ants (Rhytidoponera metallica) have a distinctive metallic green exterior

A floating plate of ants, the dream of all anteaters. These fire ants are trying to find dry land after having been displaced by rapidly rising water.

Escamoles al mojo de ajo, nom-om-om! This Mexican dish, consisting of larvae and pupae of Liometopum ants (served with garlic sauce), is likely another of the anteater's favorite snacks.

The slave-making ant Polyergus lucidus returning from a raid on Formica incerta. Two of the latter already incorporated into the mixed colony are visible to the right of the nest entrance.

A worker Harpegnathos saltator (a jumping ant) engaged in battle with a rival colony's queen

Dorymyrmex brunneus tending scale insects for honeydew

The large blue (Phengaris arion) is a species of butterfly that tricks Myrmecia ants into bringing them to the ants' nest, where they beg for food by acting like an ant larvae

Listed in Guinness World Records as the "most dangerous ant in the world", Myrmecia pyriformis ants attack by stinging and biting at the same time and is known to have killed humans^[4]

Saharan silver ant (Cataglyphis bombycina) inhabits the Sahara Desert and is one of the most heat tolerant animals known. The ants often traverse midday temperatures around 47 °C to scavenge corpses of heat-stricken animals.