Living between a rock and a hard place

There are a number of rocks and paving stones scattered around the garden.  Every once in a while, I flip one over to see what is hiding underneath.  I usually don't find much besides earthworms and small, dark things that run for cover before I can get a good look at them.  However, one of the rocks I chose to lift recently had been concealing something more interesting: a small colony of ants.
 

An ant nest that was sheltered underneath a rock.

In a cavity beneath the rock, worker ants were attending the larvae.  After the colony was exposed, the workers began to carry the larvae deeper into the colony.  When I looked closely at the larvae, I noticed that they were surprisingly hairy.

You can click on this picture to view a larger version.

Additionally, the larvae appeared to be suspended on a nearly vertical surface.  These two observations may be connected; some ant larvae have hairs that are specially shaped to anchor them to the walls of the colony.

Explore some more: Velcro Hairs Allow Ants to Hang Their Larvae