Cape Oil-collecting Bee vs African Driver Ant

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cape Oil-collecting Bee African Driver Ant
Scientific Name Rediviva neliana Dorylus wilverthi
Order Hymenoptera Hymenoptera
Family Melittidae Dorylidae
Size 10-14 mm Workers 3-13 mm; queen up to 50 mm
Habitat Mountains Forests
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions South Africa Central Africa, East Africa
Conservation Data Deficient Least Concern

Cape Oil-collecting Bee

A South African oil-collecting bee with extraordinarily long front legs used to extract floral oil from deep-spurred Diascia flowers. It is a solitary ground-nesting species.

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Did You Know?

Its front legs can be longer than its entire body, an extreme adaptation for reaching oils at the bottom of deep flower spurs.

African Driver Ant

A notorious army ant species that forms massive raiding columns through the forest floor. Colonies can contain over 20 million individuals.

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Did You Know?

Soldier ants have such powerful jaws that indigenous peoples have used them as natural wound sutures.