I had laid a tarp out in the yard to dry and when I went to fold it up I found a few dozen ants foraging on its surface. I noticed two or three different species running around as I bent to lift the edges in order to shake off the ants. That’s when I saw an ant run by that had a slightly different look than the others. I bent for a closer look and saw white markings near the front of the abdomen. This was definitely some type of ant that I had never seen before. I reached behind me to pull my camera from its holster and crawled onto the tarp in pursuit of the ant.
At close range, the ant looked even stranger. Was I seeing wing pads? What was an ant doing with wing pads? The wind was shaking the tarp and bouncing my subject all over the place. I decided to scoop it up and take it over to the picnic table for a photo shoot.
At the table, I used a clear plastic ring to corral the strange ant. When my subject extended a proboscis to drink condensation from the plastic enclosure, I knew this was no ant. I had found a bug that was mimicking an ant in order to avoid predation. This is an immature nymph. As an adult it will have fully functional wings and will take to the air.
If you can overlook the mouth parts, the bug does a wonderful job of looking the ant. Its movements are extremely ant-like. It ran across the tarp with all of the speed of a true ant. I love to find mimics, especially when they mimic one of my favorite animals.
I believe this Ant Mimic Bug is
Alydus calcaratus. It’s a plant eater and considering the abundance of ants crawling around on the plants of Blue Jay Barrens, it should be able to spend its nymphal existence relatively unnoticed.
I had laid a tarp out in the yard to dry and when I went to fold it up I found a few dozen ants foraging on its surface. I noticed two or three different species running around as I bent to lift the edges in order to shake off the ants. That’s when I saw an ant run by that had a slightly different look than the others. I bent for a closer look and saw white markings near the front of the abdomen. This was definitely some type of ant that I had never seen before. I reached behind me to pull my camera from its holster and crawled onto the tarp in pursuit of the ant.
At close range, the ant looked even stranger. Was I seeing wing pads? What was an ant doing with wing pads? The wind was shaking the tarp and bouncing my subject all over the place. I decided to scoop it up and take it over to the picnic table for a photo shoot.
At the table, I used a clear plastic ring to corral the strange ant. When my subject extended a proboscis to drink condensation from the plastic enclosure, I knew this was no ant. I had found a bug that was mimicking an ant in order to avoid predation. This is an immature nymph. As an adult it will have fully functional wings and will take to the air.
If you can overlook the mouth parts, the bug does a wonderful job of looking the ant. Its movements are extremely ant-like. It ran across the tarp with all of the speed of a true ant. I love to find mimics, especially when they mimic one of my favorite animals.
I believe this Ant Mimic Bug is Alydus calcaratus. It’s a plant eater and considering the abundance of ants crawling around on the plants of Blue Jay Barrens, it should be able to spend its nymphal existence relatively unnoticed. 
