For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

African Thief Ant (Carebara vidua)

Family Formicidae


We have over a thousand ant species in South Africa and only a few of them have names. This was a large one, about 2.5cm (over 1" inch) in length and was hanging on for dear life to this twig.
Females have a black abdomen and the male and queen a brown one. The body is covered with pale hairs.

They nest in the walls of termite mounds and are usually seen only after the first rains of summer.