Template:POTD/2011-10-18
One Plectroctena sp. ant attacks another of its kind to protect its territory. Plectroctena ants belong to the Apocrita suborder, which also includes wasps and bees. Members of Apocrita are characterized by the narrow "waist" (petiole, seen here directly behind the rear leg on the right ant) formed between the first two segments of the actual abdomen; the first abdominal segment is fused to the thorax, and is called the propodeum.Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim