He ANT heavy, he’s my son: Mother shows her strength with a bit of child’s play

By EMMA REYNOLDS

Flower power: Mother ant lifts her son high overhead while standing on top of a budding plant

The mighty ant can lift food and building materials 20 times its own bodyweight.

But these fascinating photos reveal the softer side of a bug's life.

A spindly yellow ant looks bewitchingly human as she lifts her son high overhead in a game that will be familiar to any parent.

Perched on a purple flower, this mother looks as loving as any from our species.

And further images show the entire close-knit family climbing on each other's backs, clinging to a branch together and rearing up on their back legs to gently touch feelers.

Photographer Thanh Ta Quang spent a month taking more than 2,000 shots to get the perfect pictures of the beautiful insects.

The 47-year-old studies the movements of his tiny subjects so he can work out the best time to catch them exhibiting their most interesting behaviour.


Back me up: A yellow insect poses gracefully on top of another, who balances on just one leg

He gets up early to head to forests, parks and grasslands for 8am, when the ants begin their working day and the light is at its best.

Another one of his pictures shows a group of the ants carefully transporting a cocoon, which larvae spin around themselves out of silk.

The colony also use the silk to stick together pieces of leaf from which they build their nests.

The grown ant will eventually emerge from its cocoon a pale yellow colour, which will gradually darken as it gets older.


Nice to meet you: Two of the amazing creatures touch feelers in what looks remarkably like a human handshake

Its exoskeleton will also harden as it grows, making it better at carrying heavy objects and performing the acrobatics seen in these shots.

The photographer, known as Adegsm, said: 'Finding the ants is easy but taking a good picture is difficult.

'It requires patience and a lot of time.'

But the committed artist added: 'I find photography entertaining and love the adventure.'


Wrapped up: The ant family give a lift to one of the children who is still wrapped up in its silk cocoon

He has also photographed ants fighting and performing acrobatic feats at Gia Dinh Park, near his home in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

There are more than 10,000 ant species around the world, especially in tropical forests.

Yellow ants like these are common in the south of Vietnam, often swarming over plants that produce sweet fruit.

Ho Chi Minh City even has a hotel called the Golden Ant.


Hanging out: Two relaxed-looking ant friends mirror each other as they dangle from a tiny twig

The amazing lighting does make the ants look as if they are glowing. But their gentle appearance belies a crueller side.

The sting of the yellow ant is poisonous to humans - meaning that looking at these photos may be a safer bet than getting up close.

source: dailymail