Ant-acacias…

Here are some of the ants that live on the ant-acacia trees in the Kerio Valley. First here’s a portrait of an acacia tree…    The main ants that tend the trees are known as ‘cocktail ants’ (Crematogaster spp.) because the raise their abdomens into the air when alarmed. Here are a few of them have a tete-a-tete…    Many of the cocktail ants are brightly coloured, like this one who is red-and-black….     There are lots of other species of ants on the trees. Some don’t actually live on the tree but visit it – scurrying up and down the trunk. In order to photograph these flighty creatures I put out a few drops of diluted honey. They soon found the sweet treat and settled down to drink.  They were not the only sugar lovers around – a number of flies also stopped by the droplet for a drink too! On the whole most of the ants and flies were happy to share the unexpected treat – there were a few minor scuffles, but none of these resulted in anyone being hurt…      More on the ants and other cool bugs from the Kerio Valley soon!