Some Favourite Knapweed Shots

This ant is missing part of its back leg.  It didn't slow him down a bit.

Here a black ant is enjoying the nectar from the knapweed in my backyard.  I probably took a hundred shots of the ants enjoying the flowers.  They are very quick, rather difficult creatures to photograph.  Most of my shots are rear end shots.

One thing I particularly enjoyed watching was how defensive the ants seemed to be.  There were many bees that were also enjoying the knapweed, which the ants didn't seem to like.  Many times I witnessed the ants attacking the bees and scaring them off.  I found it rather comical to see how quick the ants were to protect their food source. 

The ant in the picture below quickly jumped onto the flower at the bee's arrival.  It seemed to go under flower and pestered the bee's legs.  The bee quickly flew off. 

Taken at dusk. 

Shortly after this shot, my tripod fell over.  Thank goodness for my UV filter!  It smashed, but saved my macro lens.  Whew!!