Shared Moment: Poised to Strike

An ant reacts to protect a nurturing flower

Photograph by Kristhian Castro
PhotoZone
Oct 01, 2019

WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING in Colombia’s Valle del Cauca forests, Kristhian Castro spotted this neotropical ant (Ectatomma tuberculatum) feeding on the nectar glands of a cactus flower. “When I approached,” he says, “the ant took a threatening posture, opening its jaws towards the camera lens.” The insect was attempting to protect the flower that gives it food, an act reflecting symbiosis. “I want people to see the beauty of nature so that they fall in love with it,” Castro says. “I also hope to transmit to the viewers some of the magic that I feel in nature to awaken their awareness towards conservation.”

More from National Wildlife magazine and the National Wildlife Federation:

Nature's Witnesses: Powerful images can inspire conservation »
2018 National Wildlife Photo Contest Honorable Mentions »
See Last Issue's Shared Moment »

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