View source for Namib Desert dune ant

The Namib Desert dune ant (*Camponotus detritus*) is a large ant species with white and black symmetrical stripes on its hairy abdomen and an average mass of 45 milligrams. It belongs to the carpenter ant genus, which includes over 1,000 species, but unlike many others in this group, *C. detritus* inhabits the hyper-arid central Namib Desert in Southern Africa. This species obtains food and moisture by climbing plant stalks to drink honeydew from scale insects, which feed on shrubs and perennial plants, and also consumes dead insects.

Nests of *C. detritus* are located among perennial plant roots and consist of tunnel and chamber systems 100–400 millimeters deep. These nests can reach temperatures of 35°C in summer but remain cooler in winter, typically between 20–23°C. The nests are often lined with detritus, which gives the species its binomial name. Each colony contains a single queen.

This ant is diurnal and uses its long legs to move 5 millimeters above the sand surface, avoiding extreme temperatures that can reach 60°C at noon in midsummer. At this height, temperatures may be up to 15°C cooler than the surface. The buckspoor spider (*Seothyra*) preys on these ants by hiding in the sand, grasping a limb of a passing ant, pinning it to the surface until it dies from heat, and then dragging it underground.