A rather uncommon sight – Roger’s ant (Hypoponera punctatissima) workers are strongly cryptic and rarely collected: they spend all their life wandering underground in search of food. Thanks to a very fortunate event, we succeeded in capturing the exact moment in which a worker (the one on the left) met a queen (in darker brown) for a quick exchange of information.

This colony of Hypoponera punctatissima (Roger’s ant) lives in peace under a stone in the warm soil of the geothermal area around Hveragerði. Since these ants are rarely found in natural habitats, further research is needed.

Roger’s ants (Hypoponera punctatissima) are very rare in natural habitats and in Iceland they can only survive with the warmth provided inside heated buildings. The alates swarm from December throughout July and they are attracted to lights, while workers are rarely seen because of their cryptic habits.