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Bal Byter Ant

Camponotus Fulvopilosus

Photo by Smith Zoo
Published on Project Noah
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-32.2808, 19.9796

Field Notes

Description:

± 17 mm - Black with a yellow abdomen with a black dot on it.

Habitat:

Semiarid desert of the Tankwa National Park.

Reference Links:

File:Camponotus (Myrmopiromis) fulvopilosus.jpg, Camponotus Fulvopilosus (Bal-byter Ant) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)
Smith Zoo
I am going to be honest, I am too scared to try! :)
Ietermagog
So interesting ... Smith Zoo, give it a try & you'll know the answer ...
Johan Heyns
I grew up in Namaqualand. There a lot of these kind of things that is slowly disappearing in the past. Some not so slow!
Smith Zoo
What? I can almost not believe that Johan. It might be one of those facts that I have to see to believe??
Johan Heyns
The San used these to close cuts. Grab the Balbyter behind the head, force its mouthparts over the cut after pinching the skin together, then, when it clamps down you pinch off the rest of the body and leave a row of clamped heads as stitches to keep the cut closed. A bit gruesome, but it works!

Tags

Photographed
PublishedJune 17, 2013

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