Slave-Making Ant vs Mountain Demoiselle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Slave-Making Ant Mountain Demoiselle
Scientific Name Formica sanguinea Calopteryx exul
Order Hymenoptera Odonata
Family Formicidae Calopterygidae
Size 5-9 mm 45-52 mm
Habitat Heathland Mountains
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Europe, Western Asia, Japan Africa
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Slave-Making Ant

A facultative slave-making ant that raids colonies of other Formica species to steal pupae. The stolen brood hatches and works for the slave-maker colony. Workers are reddish with darker heads and can also establish independent colonies.

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Did You Know?

Unlike obligate slave-makers, this species can survive without slaves, but raided colonies grow much faster.

Mountain Demoiselle

A rare North African demoiselle restricted to mountain streams in Algeria and Tunisia. Males have dark blue-tinted wings and metallic blue-green bodies.

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Did You Know?

It is one of the rarest demoiselles in the world, confined to a handful of streams in the Atlas Mountains.