Bal-byter Ant (Camponotus fulvopilosus)

This is a large ant but would not stay still for one minute to allow me to get some decent shots of it.

 As can be seen by the large head, this is a worker. They do not sting but spray formic acid at attackers by tucking in the abdomen forwards under the thorax.

 They nest in soil below large rocks, fallen trees and bases of small bushes and are found in small colonies.

Info: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa

Inside a wasp nest - Paper Wasp (Polistes fastidiotus)

On the prowl for an interesting subject, I managed to come across this paper wasp. She had built her nest high up on a black painted roof so I was not able to get a very good picture of her but after the wind blew the nest down, got some fairyly good shots of what she was guarding.


Paper wasps feed abundantly on corn earworms, armyworms, tobacco hornworms, etc.
Paper-like nests, shaped like tiny umbrellas, are suspended by a short stem attached to eaves, window frames, porch ceilings, attic rafters, etc. Each nest consists of a horizontal layer or "tier" of circular comb of hexagonal (six-sided) cells not enclosed by a paper-like envelope. The ends of the cells are open with the heads of the larvae exposed to view.

Paper wasps and hornets are social insects, living in colonies containing workers, queens and males.
Fertilized queens occur in protected places such as houses and other structures, hollow logs, in stumps, under bark, in leaf litter, in soil cavities, etc. Queens emerge during the warm days of late April or early May, select a nest site and build a small paper nest in which eggs are laid. One egg is laid in each cell. As she adds more cells around the edge, eggs are deposited. Larvae in the center are older with the younger larvae further out. It is the cells at the rim of the nest which contain eggs. After eggs hatch, the queen feeds the young larvae. When larvae are ready to pupate, cells are covered with silk, forming little domes over the individual openings. Larvae pupate, emerging later as small, infertile females called "workers."
Adult food consists of nectar or other sugary solutions such as honeydew and the juices of ripe fruits.
After being stung, immediately apply a poultice of meat tenderizer to the wound. If the sting is not deep, this will break down the components of the sting fluid, reducing the pain.

Velvet Ant (Dolichomutilla sycorax)

Velvet Ant (Dolichomutilla sycorax) family Mutillidae Hymenoptera (Wasps)

When I bought my first little point and shoot camera way back in 2008 in order to take pictures of insects, little did I know that this was going to become the foremost thing of importance in my life. I did not for one minute think that bugs of any kind could be interesting enough to capture my heart. Now, I live and breath BUGS!! If you have to love something, why not insects?? :)

There are a few hundred species of Velvet ants (Mutillidae) in South Africa of which I have sofar only managed to photograph 2.

This is Dolichomutilla sycorax and mostly lays its eggs on and paratizes wasp larvae. It bites its way into a cell and lays an egg on the pupa inside, resealing the nest when leaving.

For pictures of the second species and more information on Velvet Ants, please follow this link.

I could probably have chosen something easier to photograph though and not something that bites, flies, crawls, jumps etc and is so difficult to keep still to get good photographs.

Mud Dauber Wasp (Sceliphron spirifex) Sphecidae

Females build large multi-celled mud nest attached to cliffs, tree trunks and buildings.

The cells are provisioned with several spiders (which they paralyze with poison) and sealed with mud.

Adults collect nectar from flowers to feed on.

Most of this family of wasps are solitary and vary greatly in size.

Some species excavate burrows in the ground and at the beginning of the summer season, they are hard at work building a new or repairing an old nest.