‘World’s most punk rock ant’ — and its golden ‘mohawk’ — spotted in Australia. See it
High up on a remote mountain in Australia, a string of ants with mohawk-like hair went about their day. Nearby researchers spotted the “punk-rock conga line” — and snapped some first-of-their-kind photographs.
“Ever since I learnt about the existence of the Punk Ant, I’ve wanted to see one,” naturalist Matthew Connors wrote in a Jan. 14 Facebook post.
Camponotus thadeus, commonly known as the punk ant, is a rare species of ant that lives in mountainous rainforests of Queensland, Australia, nature photographer Caitlin Henderson wrote in a Jan. 14 post to her Facebook page called She’s Got Legs Australian Spider and Insect Photography. The species was discovered in 2005 from preserved specimens.
Punk ants have a “mohawk of bright golden hairs” that “is just amazing,” Connors wrote.
“I just couldn’t resist going to see this ant for myself,” he said. “As you can probably guess from the fact that it’s never been photographed alive before, it’s unfortunately not all that simple.”
Connors put together a small team of researchers, including Henderson and Lewis Roberts, to hike up Mount Finnigan in search of the punk ant.
At an elevation of about 2,600 feet, “we saw the ants,” Henderson told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“Once you see them all together in a kind of punk-rock conga line, they’re kind of unmistakable,” she told the news outlet.
Close-up photos show the punk ant. It has a jet-black body with a row of bright yellow-orange hair sticking up along its back. Henderson described the insect as “the world’s most punk rock ant.”
“It’s amazing how we have such a stunning species right here in our backyard,” Connors wrote in a Jan. 19 Facebook post, “even if it isn’t exactly easy to get to.”
Connors and Henderson did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ Jan. 22 request for comment.
Mount Finnigan is in northern Queensland, about 1,300 miles northwest of Sydney.
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