Benjamin Blanchard April 5, 2017 Art & Media

When Ants and Lichens Combine

Lichens are not ants. But, fortunately for lichens, lichens are nearly as cool as ants. Imagine what would happen if ants and lichens joined forces!

If you don’t have a good imagination, then you’re in luck. Lichen Correspondant Joel Mercado-Díaz recently drew our attention to a couple beautiful ant-lichen photographs. With permission from the original photographer, National Geographic Explorer Matthew Cicanese, we are happy to present these two pictures for your enjoyment:

AntLichen2

AntLichen

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1

Derek Langston on April 5, 2017 at 10:30 am
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I am really lichen these photos…

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- 2
  
  Benjamin Blanchard on April 5, 2017 at 10:30 am
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  Even I have limits, Derek.
  
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- 3
  
  Derek Langston on April 5, 2017 at 10:31 am
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  Also, is there any specific interaction an ant would have with the lichen? Do they utilize it in any way?
  
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    Benjamin Blanchard on April 5, 2017 at 10:34 am
    
    That’s a good question! As far as I know, no. Although, there has been documented ant-fungus relationships, for example:
    
    https://dailyant.com/2016/12/14/nomadic-mushroom-harvesters-roam-in-southeast-asia/
    
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5

The Daily Ant One-Year Antiversary: In Review – The Daily Ant on December 13, 2017 at 5:52 pm
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[…] traits, seed-harvesting ants, desert ants, ant brains, ant pharmacology, ant hierarchies, ants and lichen, spiny ant bacteria, invasive plant and native ants, fungus-farming ants, ant homes, ant babies, […]

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6

MJ on June 26, 2020 at 1:03 pm
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Hey, I’m new to the lichen world and was looking for any info related to lichen and ants. I’ve been curious to know what material I can find in my woods ends up making cool natural dyes, and I used a few fallen pieces of lichen that I found on the ground. As far as I know, I tried 3 different kinds, which ended up making colors quite different in intensity, but there was one that clearly the ants loved because when I was fishing fabric pieces out of the dyes, I saw a ton of dead black ants that unfortunately drowned in the dye liquor of one particular type of lichen. I’m not sure if it was because that particular lichen was attached to a tree with higher sugar content or if the lichen itself had sugars or some other type of attractant in it. I also noticed that that liquor was much more syrupy and had a sweetish minty smell, so maybe that particular piece fell off a birch tree. Anyone have any ideas or thoughts about this? Thanks!

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