We spent the morning of Monday, January 16, 2012, birding along Yarapa Creek, a tributary of the Amazon (South Bank). The Azteca Ant (Azteca andreae) nest on the bottom of this tree trunk caught my eye. These ants are accomplished predators and are known for their skills and strength to capture and eat insects that are much larger in size. They live in the hollow internodes or spaces in between nodes on a plant stem (Cecropia trees are typically preferred). The queens start colonies inside a tree, but the ants will eventually build external carton nests such as shown here. Temperatures were in the upper 70's on this humid morning with hazy skies and high humidity.