Leptothorax
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These ants were foraging on a large dead log in a small
grassy meadow surrounded by mature mixed conifer, at about 8500 feet in
Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains. They were small ants, perhaps 3 mm
long. They walked at a moderate pace for a few inches, then paused for
10-15 seconds. They had a very compressed look to them, and, as you can
see in the photos, kept themselves very close to the tree as they moved.
Leptothorax typically nests in preformed cavities - in old acorns, galls, dead wood etc. I did not locate the nest of these ants, but suspect that it was somewhere in the dead log. Dr. R. Johnson and S. Cover's Draft Checklist of Arizona Ants (available on the California Academy of Sciences Ant Course site) counts 21 species of Leptothorax in Arizona, 10 of which are currently unnamed. |
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