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Queen ID please, found in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Started By QueenAmidala , Sep 26 2018 5:03 AM

Best Answer LearningAntz , September 26 2018 - 5:26 AM

Parasitic Lasius sp. Not sure which, though. Go to the full post


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#1 Offline QueenAmidala - Posted September 26 2018 - 5:03 AM

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I found 2 queens in Mississauga, Ontario on September 15th. They were right next to each other on the edge of a parking lot (surrounded by trees).
The larger queen of the two queens (not pictured) I am very confident is a Lasius neoniger queen.
The other queen only had 1 wing left and ripped it off after collection. This is the smaller queen. She is the one in the test tube setup in the pictures. I think the smaller queen looks sort of like a Lasius alienus, but they aren't from this side of the world (as far as I can tell from Google). She is certainly not a Lasius neoniger, being that she is much smaller, darker coloured, and smooth/shiny. She has yellow legs as well. I can't find any information for nuptial flights for any other species in this area. I'm stumped. Please help me identify this queen




#2 Offline LearningAntz - Posted September 26 2018 - 5:26 AM   Best Answer

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Parasitic Lasius sp. Not sure which, though.
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#3 Offline VoidElecent - Posted September 26 2018 - 6:42 AM

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Lasius aphidicolus or Lasius speculiventres. Social parasite, nonetheless.


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#4 Offline QueenAmidala - Posted September 26 2018 - 7:22 AM

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Thank you! Upon further research of both of your suggestions, I'm thinking she may be a Lasius aphidicolus/umbratus. It would make sense considering she was found near a L. neoniger mound and nearly on top of a L. neoniger queen.
Since she is parasitic, will I have to introduce niger workers to grow a colony with her? This is my first time ant keeping and I'm feeling like I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this one. Any links to some good literature about her care is greatly appreciated!

#5 Offline Batspiderfish - Posted September 26 2018 - 7:24 PM

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Lasius claviger or a closely related species. Note the clubbed antennae.


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#6 Offline Joehostile85 - Posted October 3 2018 - 9:55 AM

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Thank you! Upon further research of both of your suggestions, I'm thinking she may be a Lasius aphidicolus/umbratus. It would make sense considering she was found near a L. neoniger mound and nearly on top of a L. neoniger queen.
Since she is parasitic, will I have to introduce niger workers to grow a colony with her? This is my first time ant keeping and I'm feeling like I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this one. Any links to some good literature about her care is greatly appreciated!


Everything you need to know about social parasites.
http://www.formicult...ial-parasites/#

#7 Offline rbarreto - Posted October 3 2018 - 10:02 AM

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She doesn't really look and lengthy as the claviger queens I have, looks more like my aphidicolus queens. But then again Bat is definitely the guy you want to listen to when it comes to social parasite IDs. Try getting some better pictures.


Edited by rbarreto, October 3 2018 - 10:03 AM.

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