12 replies to this topic

[Maculata]

Thread Summary to date:  Forelius sp.

 

1. Location (on a map) of collection: Central Tucson, AZ

2. Date of collection: Summer 2018
3. Habitat of collection: Sonoran Desert, 2000ft, urban mesquite trees and cactus

From the collector: "collected it under a rock I found beside a river bed under a tree with roots sticking out of the ground with moss, quite a beautiful place"

4. Length (from head to gaster): Queen 5mm, workers 2-2.5mm
5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: 
6. Distinguishing characteristics: 
7. Distinguishing behavior: Excitable

8. Nest description: collected it under a rock

9. Nuptial flight time and date: Summer 2018

 

[Ant Images]

 

[New Images]

Edited by Maculata, February 1 2019 - 11:50 PM.

[gcsnelling]

I think Forelius is a more likely option.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Linepithema humile no doubt. The shape of the queen and the eyes of the workers give it away.

[gcsnelling]

Not likely, check out the wing scars on the queen. If not Forelius, Dorymyrmex is the only other option. Linepithema is not a desert tolerant ant unless in a very wet urban environment.

[Ferox_Formicae]

Okay, they're definitely Dorymyrmex, but species is hard to tell. Maybe D. bureni?

[YsTheAnt]

Linepithema humile no doubt. The shape of the queen and the eyes of the workers give it away.

Most Dolichoderinae have similar eye shape and queen shape, not always the best way to tell ants apart.

[Maculata]

Thank you so much for looking at these for ID.  I have tried to add several images at different angles including eyes and wing scars.  Image quality is not too good as the tube they are in is very scratched.  Note: The images in the album are higher resolution than the embedded images.  I have not wanted to force them to move into a new tube for the photos because they seem very excitable and I don't want them to panic and do something bad.  

Edited by Maculata, November 30 2018 - 10:28 PM.

[NickAnter]

To me it seems like Forelius, but it could be Dorymyrmex, I am not good at identifying Dolichoderines.

[NickAnter]

Did you collect this colony from the wild or raise it up from a queen, because if it was from the wild, it could be a parasitic Dorymyrmex species.

Edited by NickAnter, January 6 2019 - 7:06 AM.

[Maculata]

From the collector (Tucson GAN):

"I collected it under a rock I found beside a river bed under a tree with roots sticking out of the ground with moss, quite a beautiful place"

 

Rivers/Washes are dry most of the year in Tucson except after the rains, but there are spots with year round moss or green dirt ( cyanobacteria or algae ?) covering darker areas in or near the washes

 

"Sonoran Desert - Dominant Biological Crust Components - cyanobacteria (Nostoc, Schizothrix), ..."

or

"Microscopic, unicellular, free-living green algae are found in desert microbiotic crusts worldwide. ... Molecular systematic and physiological data gathered from desert taxa demonstrate that these algae are long-term members of desert communities, not transient visitors from aquatic habitats."

 

I have a couple other questions into him.  Sounds a bit like it could have been from the wild.  

 

It sounds like I would have to find a compatible sps. and grab some larvae to introduce to verify what happens.  Are there any other tests?  The queen has been laying new eggs..  

Edited by Maculata, January 7 2019 - 10:19 PM.

[Maculata]

The brood grows and starts to venture out, some better quality pictures...

 

 

Note eye of adult feeder cricket below the ant

 

 

Edited by Maculata, February 1 2019 - 11:46 PM.

[dspdrew]

As much as they look like Dorymyrmex, I can't see the cone/pyramid structure on the thorax of any of them in these pictures. The size, if accurate, is a lot smaller than any Dorymyrmex I've seen, but right in line with the size of Forelius I have seen.

[gcsnelling]

Too many antennal segments, = Forelius.