16 replies to this topic

[rbarreto]

I found this queen in Kingston about 2 weeks ago. She is the only specimen of this colouration I've ever seen. Her mesosoma is so dark you can barely make out the pattern. Below is a comparison of what all my other C. novaeboracensis queens look like. She has eggs so I'm excited to see if this trait carries over to the workers.

 

 

 

Here is what all my other queens look like.

Edited by rbarreto, June 28 2019 - 1:24 PM.

[ANTdrew]

Camponotus barretoi?

[rbarreto]

If only it were that easy

Edited by rbarreto, June 29 2019 - 12:31 AM.

[Canadant]

Bummer. can't access pics. I found a novaeboracensis queen 2 weeks ago. She was so dark it was hard to distinguish her from Pennsylvanicus.

[rbarreto]

Bummer. can't access pics. I found a novaeboracensis queen 2 weeks ago. She was so dark it was hard to distinguish her from Pennsylvanicus.

Can you post pics?

[Canadant]

I let her go. Sorry.

[rbarreto]

Little update:

It seems the darker colour has passed on to the workers. They are almost pitch black.

 

 

Edited by rbarreto, July 23 2019 - 1:38 PM.

[rbarreto]

This queen has a bunch more workers but they haven't gotten any lighter. I'm curious to see what majors will look like.

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

I had one of these when I lived in Washington. I was told she was herculeanus, maybe yours is too?

[Lazarus]

I had one of these when I lived in Washington. I was told she was herculeanus, maybe yours is too?

 

I think Ant_Dude2908 is right. The Novaeboracensis distinct lighter coloration on the thorax is something that should stick out like a sore thumb for days after they eclose. Sometimes so light it looks more beige than burgundy.

 

If it is Herculeanus, that's a better find IMHO

[rbarreto]

I had one of these when I lived in Washington. I was told she was herculeanus, maybe yours is too?

 

No I made sure to check the ID section on antwiki and she is definitely a novae queen

 

I think Ant_Dude2908 is right. The Novaeboracensis distinct lighter coloration on the thorax is something that should stick out like a sore thumb for days after they eclose. Sometimes so light it looks more beige than burgundy.

If it is Herculeanus, that's a better find IMHO

 

If you look carefully at the first picture you can just barely see the coloration on her thorax. Its super dark for some reason.

[CheetoLord02]

This is very interesting, and I have noticed color variation in C. novaeboracensis myself. Queens collected in Rhinelander WI were very similar to your dark queen, where queens and workers collected in Adams WI had a fiery red thorax. Just another reason why you can't trust color for identification.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

This is very interesting, and I have noticed color variation in C. novaeboracensis myself. Queens collected in Rhinelander WI were very similar to your dark queen, where queens and workers collected in Adams WI had a fiery red thorax. Just another reason why you can't trust color for identification.

That's interesting; I saw a whole bunch of these queens near Lac Du Flambeau Wisconsin this July, and they were red and black, just like you'd expect. Only about 30 miles northwest of Rhinelander.

[Antennal_Scrobe]

If color doesn't work to identify Camponotus, what does? There is no key on AntWiki for US species.

[rbarreto]

If color doesn't work to identify Camponotus, what does? There is no key on AntWiki for US species.

Just compare the identification sections on antwiki.

[Manitobant]

Its camponotus herculeanus. I have many of these.

[AntJohnny]

I actually caught a bunch of Camponotus this year. Alot were pennsylvanicus and about a dozen were novaeboracensis a few are really bright red but I have a couple like the first pic. A really dark shade of red. I didn't really think anything of it until just now after reading your post. I still have them but I put them into hibernation already and don't want to bother them. I really hope some are herculeanus. I don't remember what the workers looked like.