Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ant (Atta sp) female worker carrying leaf to nest, with a smaller 'minor' ant riding. The minor's job is to protect her sister from parasitic flies. Costa Rica, December. Highly Commended,...

Kim Taylor / Bachacs / Leafcutter ants {Atta cephalotes} carrying sections of Cocoa leaf bearing 'riders' thought to ward off parasitic flies which would otherwise lay their eggs on the pieces of leaf. Trinidad, W...

Morley Read / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying leaves and pieces of yellow flowers along a branch, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying leaves and pieces of yellow flowers along a branch, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying leaves and pieces of yellow flowers along a branch, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Column of Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying leaves over the rainforest floor to their nest, Amazon rainforest, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of Army ants (Eciton rapax) on the rainforest floor, Orellana Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Morley Read / Slow motion clip of Leafcutter ants (Atta) carrying pieces of leaves back to their nest, Amazon rainforest, Napo Province, Ecuador. (non-ex)

Piotr Naskrecki / Termite (Macrotermes mossambicus) winged individual on pile of wings shed by other termites, with winged male Carpenter ants (Camponotus). Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Highly commended in the...

Morley Read / Column of Leaf cutter ants (Atta) carrying cut pieces of leaves along the forest floor towards therr nest, Orellana Province, Ecuador, 2018. (non-ex)

Emanuele Biggi / Peruvian Tarantula (Pamphobeteus sp.) and Humming Frog (Chiasmocleis royi) together, Los Amigos Biological Station, Madre de Dios, Amazonia, Peru. These species have a commensal relationship. The tara...

Emanuele Biggi / Peruvian Tarantula (Pamphobeteus sp.) adult, walking over Humming Frog (Chiasmocleis royi) without preying on it. Los Amigos Biological Station, Madre de Dios, Amazonia, Peru. These species have a com...

David Perpinan / Close-up of a Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) eating ants, Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Konrad Wothe / Slow motion clip of Wood ants (Formica rufa) on anthill, squirting formic acid to repel threat, Bavaria, Germany, April.

Chien Lee / Minden / Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata), El Coca, Ecuador

Dave Bevan / Slow motion clip of Black garden ants (Lasius niger) moving exposed eggs underground, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK, September.

Paul Bertner / Leafcutter Ant (Atta sp) group harvesting leaf, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador

Paul Bertner / Green Tree Ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) group on flowering plant, Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Paul Bertner / Crab Spider (Thomisidae) with Ant (Tetraponera sp) prey, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Paul Bertner / Assassin Bug (Acanthaspis sp) being attacked by ants, Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia

Brian Bevan / Close-up of a group of Wood ants (Formica rufa) carrying a dead insect back to their nest, Bedfordshire, England, UK, August.

Brian Bevan / Close-up of a group of Wood ants (Formica rufa) carrying a dead Common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) back to their nest, Bedfordshire, England, UK, August.

Konrad Wothe / Leafcutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying leaves along a trail, Panguana Reserve, Huanuco Province, Peru.

Konrad Wothe / Leafcutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying leaves along a trail up a tree trunk, Panguana Reserve, Huanuco Province, Peru.

Konrad Wothe / Leafcutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying leaves and filaments along a trail, Panguana Reserve, Huanuco Province, Peru.

Konrad Wothe / Army ants (Eciton burcellii) carrying eggs on a trail in a rainforest, Panguana Reserve, Huanuco Province, Peru.

Ingo Arndt / Green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) group on entrance from nest, built from woven leaves, Northern Territory, Kakadu National Park, Australia.

Ingo Arndt / Black garden ants {Lasius niger} feeding on cricket Germany, Europe

Konrad Wothe / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) in a tree using pieces of grass to pull ants from a hole to eat, Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.

Konrad Wothe / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) in a tree using pieces of grass to pull ants from a hole to eat, with a baby in the background, Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.

Konrad Wothe / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) in a tree using pieces of grass to pull ants from a hole to eat, Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.

Konrad Wothe / Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in a tree using pieces of grass to pull ants from a hole to eat, Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania.

James Dunbar / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp.) communicating. Guadeloupe National Park, Guadeloupe, Leeward Islands.

Alex Hyde / Leaf-cutter ant (Atta cephalotes) carrying pieces of leaf that they have harvested back to their underground fungus garden in their nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Alex Hyde / Leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying pieces of leaf that they have harvested back to their underground fungus garden in their nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photographed in mobile field studi...

Alex Hyde / Leaf-cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying pieces of leaf that they have harvested back to their underground fungus garden in their nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Photographed in mobile field studi...

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying piece of leaf, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying pieces of fern, reflected in water, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying plant matter, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leafcutter ants (Atta sp) colony harvesting pieces of a banana leaf, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying colourful plant matter, reflected in water, Laguna del Lagarto, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) silhouetted carrying plant matter, Laguna del Lagarto, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying colourful plant matter, reflected in water, Laguna del Lagarto, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying plant matter, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ant (Atta sp) carrying pink flower segment, Santa Rita, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) carrying colourful plant matter, reflected in water, Costa Rica.

Bence Mate / Leafcutter ants (Atta sp) colony harvesting a banana leaf, Costa Rica. 3rd place in the Insects and Spiders category of the Terre Sauvage Nature Images Awards competitions 2015.

Konrad Wothe / Leafcutter Ant (Atta cephalotes) pair carrying leaves, Panguana Nature Reserve, Peru

Theo Webb / Driver ant (Dorylus) large soldier guarding smaller ants, in Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Pal Hermansen / Wood ants (Formica rufa) with larvae on rusty car, Bastnas car graveyard, Varmland, Sweden, June.

Ammonite / Group of Wood ants (Formica rufa) attacking House centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata), Dorset, England, UK, April. Sequence 1/3.

Ammonite / Wood ant (Formica rufa) carrying a large twig across woodland floor, Dorset, England, UK, April.

Ammonite / Wood ant (Formica rufa) carrying a large twig across woodland floor, Dorset, England, UK, April.

Ammonite / Small group of Wood ants (Formica rufa) carrying and pulling a large twig across woodland floor, Dorset, England, UK, April.

Ammonite / Small group of Wood ants (Formica rufa) carrying and pulling a large twig across woodland floor, Dorset, England, UK, April.

Ammonite / Black garden ant (Lasius niger) carrying off a dead aphid and milking others for honeydew, Bristol, England, UK, July.

Ammonite / Black garden ant (Lasius niger) milking aphids for honeydew, Bristol, England, UK, July.

Pal Hermansen / Wood ants (Formica rufa) around the edge of a broken window in an old car, Bastnas, Sweden, July. Winner of the Fritz Polking Prize at the GDT competition 2013 and winner of the Portfolio category in...

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying sections of leaves, to be used for cultivating nutritious fungi, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying sections of leaves, to be used for cultivating nutritious fungi, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying sections of leaves, to be used for cultivating nutritious fungi, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta cephalotes) carrying sections of leaves, to be used for cultivating nutritious fungi, Santa Rita, Costa Rica

Juergen Freund / Green Tree Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) attacking Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Anup Shah / Celebes / Black crested macaque (Macaca nigra) sub-adult male trying to break into bamboo to feed on ant eggs from a nest, Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Ingo Arndt / Leafcutter Ant (Atta sp) carrying section of leaf to be used for cultivating nutritious fungi, Costa Rica

Rolf Nussbaumer / Texas leafcutter ant (Atta texana) workers carrying leaves during rain, New Braunfels, Central Texas, USA. Highly honoured, Small world Spectacular Category, Natures Best competition 2012.

Paul D Stewart / Male Large Blue Butterfly (Maculinea eutryphon / arion) collected in 1865. It is here surrounded by other extant UK blue butterfly species. The large Blue was first recorded as a British species in 17...

Kim Taylor / Wood Ant (Formica rufa) worker protecting the nest by jetting formic acid from its tail. Endemic to Europe and Asia. Surrey, UK.

Martin Dohrn / African driver / Siafu / Safari ant biting {Dorylus/ Anomma speciess). Species is non-stinging, but jaws can tear human flesh. East Africa

Martin Dohrn / Wood ant (Formica rufa) basking to absorb heat from the sun which is brought back to the nest when they return, Europe

Martin Dohrn / Maricopa harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex maricopa) fighting a different species of ant (Aphaenogaster cockerelli), over territory Arizona, USA

Martin Dohrn / Driver ant / Siafu (Dorylus sp.) in nomadic stage carrying pupae

Solvin Zankl / Army ant (Dorylus sp.) close-up of male. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Close up of ant (Acanthognathus brevicornis) from South America. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Trap jaw ant (Odontomachus sp.) close-up showing powerful mandibles with sensory hairs. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Close up of ant (Cephalotes clypeatus) Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Fire Ant (Solenopsis geminata) head of a major worker with mandibles used for opening seeds. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Close-up of ant (Thaumatomyrmex atrox) from the neotropics, specialists predators on millipedes Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Red Ant (Myrmica rubra) close-up portrait, Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Leaf cutter ant (Atta cephalotes ) close-up. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Close up of ant (Harpegnathos venator) head from Asia. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Solvin Zankl / Jet Ant / Shining Jet Black Ant (Lasius fuliginosus), worker. Specimen photographed using digital focus stacking

Konrad Wothe / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) fishing for ants with stick, Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, East Africa

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Wood ants (Formica rufa), Arne RSPB reserve, Dorset, England, UK, September. 2020VISION Book Plate. Did you know? Wood ants are ecologically important, protecting trees from parasites and recycling nu...

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Wood ant (Formica rufa) Arne RSPB reserve, Dorset, England, UK, July. 2020VISION Book Plate.

Ross Hoddinott / 2020VISION / Wood ant (Formica rufa) Arne RSPB reserve, Dorset, England, UK, July

Guy Edwardes / 2020VISION / Grass covered anthills in ancient chalk grassland at dawn, Parsonage Down NNR, Wiltshire, UK, June 2011

Piotr Naskrecki / Leafcutter Ant (Atta cephalotes) worker on leaf protecting larger workers carrying leaf from parasitoid flies, Costa Rica

Rolf Nussbaumer / Broad-headed Bug (Hyalymenus tarsatus) nymphs on leaf mimicking ants. Comal County, Hill Country, Central Texas, USA, October.

Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ants (Atta sp) female worker ants carry pieces of fern leaves to nest, reflected in water, Costa Rica, December. Winner, Eric Hosking award, 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competit...

Chris Shields / Illustration of Red ant (Myrmica rubra), Formicidae. attacking ant on stem.

Kim Taylor / Wood Ant (Formica rufa) workers on top of their nest synchronise ejection of formic acid droplets to maximise deterrent effect on potential predator, UK. Commended in the Audubon Society of Greater De...

Kim Taylor / Wood Ant (Formica rufa) workers defending the nest by ejecting droplets of formic acid, UK.

Edwin Giesbers / Fire ant (Solenopsis sp) worker, with green plant material behind

Alex Hyde / Social Wasp colony {Hymenoptera} photographed against white background. Masoala Peninsula National Park, north east Madagascar.

Bence Mate / Leafcutter ants (Atta sp) colony harvesting a banana leaf, Costa Rica. OVERALL WINNER: Wildlife Photoghrapher of the Year 2010 from Eric Hosking Award portfolio image 2/6