By Saloni Mathur
EXTRAORDINARY images of weaver ants balancing fruits on a bride’s tear flower have been captured.
The ants pictured in Indonesia can be seen carrying carefully balanced fruit on their heads while crossing the flowers as carefully as possible in a bid to reach their nest.
Weaver ants live in trees and are known for their unique nests, which are constructed by workers weaving together leaves using larval silk.
These ants can carry 500mg which is around 100 times their body weight.
Their tiny stature means carrying heavy objects is less about muscle strength and more about grip.
The close-up pictures were snapped by Dzul Dzulfikri, a wildlife photographer from Jakarta, Indonesia, and provide an intimate view into the lives of these feisty ants.
“This is the season the ants need to collect the fruit and other food to take back to their nest, so I went into the garden to capture these moments,” he told mediadrumworld.com.
“I love images like these, which show two ants working together in harmony to carry a large object to its destination.
“The ants are positioned on opposite sides of the object, each using their legs and mandibles to grip and lift the fruit.
“They can be seen standing on a thin, brown branch, with pink flowers in the background.
“It created such a surreal visual that I was completely mesmerised.”
ENDS
