New published larval description!

Aren't they amazing?? Take a face-down look into the leaf-cutting babies rosy cheeks, below.

I will upload it to my list of publication, soon enough, and update this post. Have fun!

The paper can be found as below:

Solis, D.R., Fox, E.G.P., Ceccato, M., Reiss, I.C., Décio, P., Lorenzon, N., da Silva Menegasso, A.R., Bueno, O.C., 2012. On the morphology of the worker immatures of the leafcutter ant Atta sexdens Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Microsc. Res. Tech. 75, 1059–1065. https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.22031

Always loved taking pics of Odonata. I think they are quite elegant, posing to pics. However should you try to capture them, they fly away within a second. I have been told they can bite, severely, if mishandled. Unfortunately I never was quick enough to try them.

The one at the far top was photographed in a Park at Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The second one was photographed at Itaipava, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a house garden by the pool.

Amazing little fairies...

Stingy News

So!

I have some interesting news:

Note: this pic has nothing to do with the post. except that it is about ants. A gang of Camponotus abusing a poor Atta male who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cest la vie...

1) In a couple of months I hope I will be able to post here my new method for ant venom extraction! It is now submitted, and I am confident it will generate some interesting discussions!

2) I will be going to French Guyana in a couple of months to collect fire ants in a collaboration with Switzerland! I am most totally thrilled at the prospect. Will certainly fill this blog with images from the trip!

3) Also I am getting my first experiences inject fire ant venom compounds in our HPLC system. Since all is new I cannot say for certain if our first impressions are good... let us hope!

One video we made some years ago

English and Spanish captions available!

Please if any readers can help me ID the cockroaches showing in this video, it would be GREAT! I would like to add species to the video description.

This is a very intriguing video, I totally recommend it.

Also available at:

http://www.fulldocumentary.com/science/default.asp?action=listing&id=1572

Would you like to be a beetle?

This is the most frequently found myrmecophyle inside fire ant nests. Myrmecophyles are insects which live among ants. Just imagine being surrounded by these aggressive little devils... well, it doesn't seem to mind.

Ain't it cute?

Everyday I get a passionate kiss and hug from my daughters. They love me.