32 replies to this topic

[sweetgrass]

I found a colony inside a piece of wood I was splitting.

 

This is a semi arid environment here - I live in an irrigated farmland area here.

 

In my yard in SE Alberta and extracted the whole colony.

 

Would like to know what exactly they are.

 

 

 

 

[sweetgrass]

Camponotus novaeboracensis I am thinking

[TennesseeAnts]

I think Camponotus hyatti. How long is the queen (in millimeters)?

[sweetgrass]

The queen is buried 8 deep in the test tube.
She isn’t huge.

If I see her I will try to see her length

[sweetgrass]

I looked up Hyatti. I am a couple thousand miles from the Pacific coast. Not sure they are around here in this semi desert ????

[sweetgrass]

Hmmm. Someone earlier thought vicinus. Could be that too

[YsTheAnt]

We need measurements of the workers to know what they are.

[sweetgrass]

Ok. I will work on that on Monday

[LearningAntz]

I think Camponotus hyatti. How long is the queen (in millimeters)?

Doesn’t exist in Alberta. Couldn’t be that species.

[TennesseeAnts]

I think Camponotus hyatti. How long is the queen (in millimeters)?

Doesn’t exist in Alberta. Couldn’t be that species.

I was afraid of that. (I am only familiar with ants in the U.S.)

[Antics]

I found two species in Alberta but I can't narrow it down further for you.

(Assuming they are Camponotus)
C. herculeanus (Linnaeus)
C. noveboracensis (Fitch)

[sweetgrass]

Thank you. I have an identified C hurculeanus. These new ones are not them

Definitely could be the novaeboracensis or vicinus
I will measure some workers tomorrow.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Judging on the shape and angle the propodeum points at, these are Camponotus novaeboracensis.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Oops, I just looked at them a little closer and now I notice that the propodeum sticks further back than I originally thought and they are much shinier. The pronotum is also much more slender. I should have known as I have seen Camponotus novaeboracensis before ant they look completely different from these!

[LearningAntz]

Oops, I just looked at them a little closer and now I notice that the propodeum sticks further back than I originally thought and they are much shinier. The pronotum is also much more slender. I should have known as I have seen Camponotus novaeboracensis before ant they look completely different from these!

If it’s not Camponotus novaeboracensis then it’s Camponotus vicinus. It’d be far easier to identify if the queen were visible. That’d be the best way to confirm.

[sweetgrass]

Pic of winged queen when I first caught them.  She has removed them now

 

i'm checking my first post to see if I have a pic of the queen

[sweetgrass]

This worker is 3 mm long

[Ferox_Formicae]

Definitely Camponotus vicinus.

[TheRealAntMan]

Judging on the shape and angle the propodeum points at, these are Camponotus novaeboracensis.

Camponotus Novaeboracensis has a distinctive dark blood red, maroon coloring on the mesonotum, pronotal, and parts of the propodeum and mesopleuron areas. These ants mesosoma's are much lighter. I'm thinking this is Camponotus Vicinus.

[YsTheAnt]

How large are the workers? It might be a myrmentoma species...