Stranger Things

The warm sun following the morning rain creates the perfect ambiance for insect observation. The atmosphere brings much activity as ants transport eggs and the sun's rays glitter plants and flowers bringing bees. Then, emerging from underground like earthworms and land planarians. While observing ants transporting eggs from the bark of an old tree, I was surprised when a worm emerged from a tiny hole nearby. This particular species has twelve eyes, which I never witnessed in any species before. Australopacifica is a genus of land planarians of the tribe Caenoplanini. It is those species lacking sufficient morphological information to allow them to be classified in the appropriate genus.

Earthworms play a crucial role in soil aeration and are vital for the environment. However, when underground oxygen levels diminish due to water saturation, they come on land for air.

Usually, I walk alone strolling like an alien and sometimes I tend to leave behind the gear I carry. When I spotted this ant with a strange fungus I knew something was off. But my macro gear was on the bike which was almost 100 meters away, so I had to sprint back and forth to capture it. The funny part? Just as I clicked a couple of shots and was about to frame it properly, another ant came along and pushed the fungus-infected one into a nearby stream.

Similarly, Pandora is an ant pathogenic fungus found on the abdomen of an ant. This fungus infects ant altering their behavior and prompting them to leave their colony and climb high on plants. Inside the ant, the fungus grows and eventually kills it. After killing the ant, it forms a stalk-like structure that releases spores capable of infecting more ants. This strange yet fascinating process highlights how parasites can control their hosts in nature.

There is limited information available on Pandora ; many important aspects of this host-pathogen system remain hitherto unknown, and the taxonomical status of the fungus is unclear.

Why does fungi targets on ants? because the right conditions for fungi to thrive can be found inside ant nest, while ants are social its easy to spread and with many ants in a colony it won’t be suspicious. But there are records of ant’s army checking on soldiers for infections at the gate of burrows. While observing this ant , another ant which came in contact pushed the ant into nearby stream.

During my macro walk near Western Ghats searching for a spider, I encountered a species of Pheaicus spider on the ground. It was my first time seeing this speceis so I gently picked it up and placed it on a nearby tree for a photograph. Just as I clicked the shutter it vanished from sight so I began scanning the tree for another opportunity but instead I discovered pseudoscorpions raiding the ants hidden beneath the tree bark.

Rhopalomastix rothneyi is a rare species of ant native to certain regions of Asia, including India and Sri Lanka. This species tends to hide under tree barks for protection and nesting purpose which makes harder to spot and study. 

Some of the strangest macro life I could find on my regular walks, all this species are rare and have been one of a kind observation.