Family Formicidae
Females have a black abdomen and the male and queen a brown one. The body is covered with pale hairs.
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.
They nest in the walls of termite mounds and are usually seen only after the first rains of summer.
