Chien C. Lee

  • Select Portfolio
  • About
  • Connect
    • Contact
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
  • Events
    • Guided Trips
    • Exhibitions
    • Talks & Workshops
  • Full Image Library
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
10 images found
twitterlinkedinfacebook

Loading ()...

  • A Giant Forest Ant (Dinomyrmex gigas) receives a droplet of sweet honeydew from the abdomen of a juvenile leaf-footed bug (Notobitus sp.). The bugs, which obtain more sugar than they need from the plant juices they feed on, are fiercely guarded by the ants in return. Mutually beneficial trophobiotic relationships such as this are very advantageous in the competitive ecosystem of the rainforest. Danum Valley Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1602452.jpg
  • Spiny ant (Polyrhachis armata). Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1910677.jpg
  • A Golden Forest Ant (Polyrhachis ypsilon) has been killed by a parasitic Ophiocordyceps fungus which has consumed its body. Before dying, the behaviour of infected ants is controlled by the fungus, and are directed to climb to a suitable location usually on the underside of a leaf. There the fungus kills its host and produces fruiting bodies which releases spores to infect more ants below. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1407827.jpg
  • Golden Forest Ant (Polyrhachis ypsilon). Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1404593.jpg
  • Two Giant Forest Ants (Dinomyrmex gigas) from different colonies confront each other in a territorial dispute.  Rather than engage in full combat, this species usually resolves such conflict in a series of ritualistc fights. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld07082337.jpg
  • Ant-hunting spider (Mallinella sp.) predating a Giant Forest Ant (Dinomyrmex gigas ssp. borneensis), which it also mimics. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld2212948.jpg
  • Although many small insects disguise themselves as ants to take advantage of their unpalatability, mimicry by another ant species is quite a rare occurrence. At a quick glance the two ants in this photo appear the same, especially while they are quickly scurrying down a stem, but closer inspection reveals that in fact there is a clever deception taking place. The ant at the bottom is Crematogaster inflata, an uncommon species from the rainforests of Borneo, which is distinctive in having a swollen orange metathorax. Its glands can exude a toxic sticky fluid as a defense and predators thus tend to avoid this species, heeding its bright warning coloration. At top is a relatively harmless Camponotus ant (actually an unnamed species) that mimics the Crematogaster in size, shape, and color - although its orange coloration is found on its abdomen rather than its thorax.  Observations of this species are rare but curiously, these Camponotus mimics have only ever been observed in close proximity to colonies of Crematogaster inflata. The exact nature of their association and whether or not these mimics derive other advantages from their toxic models is still unknown. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1910872.jpg
  • Few things exemplify the incredible complexity of rainforest ecosystems more than that of mutualisms between species. Here, a group of Giant Forest Ants (Dinomyrmex gigas) tend to a pair of lanternflies (Pyrops cultellatus), a relationship that has a net benefit for both species. The lanternflies, feeding directly from the phloem of the tree with their piercing straw-like mouthparts, harvest much more sugar-rich fluid than they actually need; the excess being excreted intermittently as a squirt of honeydew droplets from their abdomen. The ants position themselves directly behind and below the lanternflies and intercept these droplets with their heads, then consume the fluid and share it with their nestmates. In return, the ants guard the lanternflies and will ferociously attack any potential threat. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1824050.jpg
  • Colobopsis schmitzi ant on peristome of Nepenthes bicalcarata pitcher. Although these carnivorous plants trap most insects, this ant has a mutualistic relationship with the plant and is able to freely walk on the slippery surface. Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld2006901.jpg
  • Giant Forest Ants (Dinomyrmex gigas) tending to fulgorid planthoppers (Scamandra polychroma) for honeydew secretions. Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo).
    cld1209101.jpg