Nest Building by Weaver ants

Four workers holding leaf for weaver ant nest

My garden has several nests of weaver ants(Oecophylla smaragdina). Even though I have captured their closeups and nests, after it was constructed, I wanted to witness and capture the nest building steps of this brilliant insect architect. After stalking several nests and getting bitten by their workers, I was finally able to get a good … Read more

Kissing Ants

Kissing Ants

Ever the opportunistic photophile, I perchanced upon these foraging major workers of the common weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina, locked together in a deep kiss, though even if it does seem like the ants are passionately kissing each other, it serves a whole different purpose altogether. Ants frequently indulge in this ‘kissing’ action, which in scientific … Read more

Weaver Ant – Oecophylla smaragdina

Weaver Ant - Oecophylla smaragdina

In my garden I have a huge Indian almond (Terminalia catappa) tree. It has several nests of weaver ants(Oecophylla smaragdina). It was late in the evening. Sun was setting on the western horizon as a golden orb. I spotted few major workers of the Weaver ants climbing up the Indian almond tree. As I went … Read more

Golden Backed Ant Trapped by Cellar Spider

Golden Backed Ant Trapped by Cellar Spider

When my wife called me to our dining room to photograph a spider which has trapped an ant 10 times its size, I rushed to photograph this spectacle. It was true fight of David vs Goliath. The Golden Backed Ant (Camponotus sericeus) which was trapped in the Cellar spider’s web and was hanging upside down … Read more

Camponotus Ants Tending Aphids

Camponotus Ants Tending Aphids

It was raining heavily, I found these few amber colored ants climbing a sugarcane stem which had grown in our garden. They went underneath a leaf and stayed there for a long time. I was curious to find what they were doing. I turned the leaf over and I found these Camponotus Ants on the … Read more

Weaver Ants

Weaver Ants

With Canon EOS 5D Mark III’s better autofocus capability, macro photography is bound to change. I used to recommend manual focus for macro shoots especially on 5D mark II as most of the time autofoucs used to hunt for focus and used to miss the shots. 5D Mark III coupled with Hybrid IS of Canon … Read more