36 replies to this topic

[CoolColJ]

1. Location of collection - Berri, South Australia, suburban backyard

2. Date of collection 28/5/2018
3. Habitat of collection - backyard
4. Length 15mm or so

 

Well past flight season here, winter approaching now, but for some reason these queens flew yesterday

I did not capture her, but I am wanting to buy her off someone.

 

She looks strange, but is also quite large. Kinda like a Pheidole, but too big to be one

Carebara?

 

 

-

 

edit -

 

have them now and took some pics

 

click to enlarge

 

Edited by CoolColJ, June 3 2018 - 6:27 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Carebara sp.

[Spamdy]

Aphaenogaster longiceps.

[CoolColJ]

Carebara sp.

 

Yeah I really think so as well

 

She had two of these queens, so I snapped up both, worth the gamble, as they are so rare around here

Aphaenogaster longiceps.

 

That's what I thought, but not at 15mm. And the owner said she has a longiceps queen and they look different

Edited by CoolColJ, May 28 2018 - 5:37 PM.

[CoolColJ]

Some pic of Carebara with the similar kind of stocky look

 

 

Edited by CoolColJ, May 28 2018 - 7:42 PM.

[Phoenix]

She's definitely a Carebara queen.

[CoolColJ]

could it be Pheidole antipodum? Which is almost Carebara like anyway

 

 

compared to

 

 

http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/images/5/5c/Pheidole_antipodum_queen_with_workers%2C_Wandering%2C_Western_Australia%2C_Farhan_Bokhari.jpg

Edited by CoolColJ, May 29 2018 - 2:49 AM.

[AnthonyP163]

Carebara cornigera?

[CoolColJ]

Carebara cornigera?

 

What made you suggest this?

[MegaMyrmex]

We'll have to wait for some workers to come but I'm leaning towards pheidole antipodum or maybe a subterranean carebara species.

[CoolColJ]

Interestingly, antipodum are only found in the southern states so far - and so this ant was captured in a town called Berri, Riverland region, South Australia

 

https://bie.ala.org....6-e8c7331d6bca#

Edited by CoolColJ, May 29 2018 - 11:16 AM.

[CoolColJ]

I'll take better pics when they get here tomorrow

But for now

 

Top view of antipodum - comparo

 

 

 

side view - the really large upper body bulge is very similar

[AnthonyP163]

 

Carebara cornigera?

 

What made you suggest this?

 

Because unless this ant is invasive or Pheidole antipodum, that's the only known Carebara species in NSW. 

[CoolColJ]

 

 

Carebara cornigera?

 

What made you suggest this?

 

Because unless this ant is invasive or Pheidole antipodum, that's the only known Carebara species in NSW. 

 

 

Queen was found in South Australia, but it probably doesn't change things too much

[CoolColJ]

Looking more like Pheidole Antipodum, as the seller described seeing "Yellow bodies majors redish heads"

But then again some Carebara look like that as well, but at least I know they have majors

 

 

They range from 3mm all the way to 10mm majors, and possibly larger, with at least 4 castes of majors,  but they are supposed to be continuously variable in size, so much like the larger Carebara species

 

http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/images/f/f6/Pheidole_antipodum%2C_Brigadoon%2C_Western_Australia._Farhan_Bokhari_%283%29.jpg

Edited by CoolColJ, May 30 2018 - 6:25 PM.

[LC3]

A much easier way to ID, if you have major workers of this species on hand check if they have "horns" on the end of their head, at the end of those lobes that make the head look heart shaped. All (if not the vast majority) of Oligomyrmex (Carebara) will have these to some extent, Pheidole do not.

Edited by LC3, May 30 2018 - 5:57 PM.

[Zyzzyx]

Hi,

 

the pictures do not show that too well but if you count the number of articles of the antennal club should be three for Pheidole and 2 for Carebara IIRC. I would love to find one of those queens as Pheidole antipodum seems to be one of the most spectacular Pheidole we have in Australia. I have seen once a flight of what now is Pheidole dispar (what was called Machomyrma) and it was a specially spectacular sight with thousands of workers and alates pouring from underground tunnels forming almost a carpet, this was in Brisbane at the DPIF labs in Oxley, cannot remember if it was spring or autumn, definitely was not summer, but was in 2001 so a long time ago.

 

P.S.: Could you ask your friend fr the time of the day and the weather conditions? Cool overcast or Sunny and warm day, after rain that sort of stuff? Thank you

Edited by Zyzzyx, May 31 2018 - 5:01 AM.

[CoolColJ]

Hi,

 

the pictures do not show that too well but if you count the number of articles of the antennal club should be three for Pheidole and 2 for Carebara IIRC. I would love to find one of those queens as Pheidole antipodum seems to be one of the most spectacular Pheidole we have in Australia. I have seen once a flight of what now is Pheidole dispar (what was called Machomyrma) and it was a specially spectacular sight with thousands of workers and alates pouring from underground tunnels forming almost a carpet, this was in Brisbane at the DPIF labs in Oxley, cannot remember if it was spring or autumn, definitely was not summer, but was in 2001 so a long time ago.

 

P.S.: Could you ask your friend fr the time of the day and the weather conditions? Cool overcast or Sunny and warm day, after rain that sort of stuff? Thank you

 

 

They should arrive today, so I'll be able to take more detailed macro photos soon.

She describes them as tanks, big and slow moving

They might be polygynous - her words

 

They're fine together, the e we had were in the same test tube all snuggled up together
Well once you know, i would be interested  to know too please. They are so like a tank big, slow and clumsy lol

 

 

There was a thunder storm, which normally pass by quickly.

And these took off, as well many other ant species queens, and flew very high according to her

She came back later and found these queens without wings.

 

She found many different species of ant queens that day in her backyard

They all flew in the afternoon.

It's been pretty cold at night lately, but in the low 20s during the day.

 

This is not a normal occurrence. From what someone said, it's like the ants around here have a last minute flight before winter kicks in, to empty out the nest I guess

Because many other people also caught queens of all species in the last few days.

So it is unknown when their normal flight periods are. It could be when other Pheidole fly in late March/April.

 

 

Anyway she lives in a town called Berri, which is quite away from the main city, so that helps in finding these types of ants.

Hence why it's taken so long for the ants to get to me.

Edited by CoolColJ, May 31 2018 - 2:16 PM.

[CoolColJ]

You can see them on the far left from her video - she caught all these queens that day

 

There is a large Camponotus queen in the mid test tubes, for size/bulk comparison.

Might be a Camponotus nigriceps, one of the larger species we have

So yeah, they are a giant as far as Pheidole queens go

 

Edited by CoolColJ, May 31 2018 - 2:35 PM.

[Zyzzyx]

Hi,

 

thanks for the info, I will go to a couple of locations, where according to old records, Pheidole antipodum was collected in the past during the weekend to see if I see any activity, that's why I was asking for the weather conditions and time of flight.

 

The only species (maybe two actually) of Pheidole I see flying regularly here are active between early to late April, and they are either Pheidole vigilans or something close to Pheidole variabilis, I do not have access to a microscope so I doubt I will be able to shed light on what actual species I am dealing with. I collected last year also a tiny species of Pheidole in my swimming pool in summer but I have not seen them fly this year.

 

Suburban Perth is largerly invaded by Pheidole megacephala and it is anyway very poor in Mymicines.

 

Cheers

Zyzzyx

Edited by Zyzzyx, May 31 2018 - 8:23 PM.