8 replies to this topic

[gsparrow]

So, We got in a shipment of house plants at work and we were unwrapping them when I started getting stung and looked down and there were ants coming out of this potted house plant that I was working on.  I got about 3 stings.  These plants came from a grower in Florida.  I'm guessing this is or was a satalite nest for I do not see a queen.  There were some brood.  

 

1. Loacation of Collection:  Delaware

2. Date of collection:  8-15-2019

3. Habitat of collection:  In the dirt of a potted house plant

4. Length:  about 7 mm

5. Coloration, hue, pattern, texture:  Head kind of has a slight reddish hue, body and abdomen are dark.  see some lighter coloring on the legs.

6. Distinguishing characteristics:  Does STING; 

7. Any thing else distinctive:  

8. nest description:  in a potted house plant

9. Nuptial flight time and date:  N/A

 

 

 

[TennesseeAnts]

Odontomachus brunnueas it looks like.

[NickAnter]

Wow! If I were you, I would keep those! They are trap jaw ants!

[gsparrow]

Does this species usually make satellite nests?  From what I've read so far on google It appears the queen is hard to pick out due being close in size to the workers.  I dumped the dirt from the potted plant into a tupaware container and brought them home.  From what I see there are about 15 ants.  I did put in a test tube in the tupaware container hoping they move in there but they seem to really like being in the dirt.  Or, should I sift  through the dirt and catch them and place them into a MiniHearth???  

 

What do they like to eat?

[TennesseeAnts]

They eat crickets readily .

[Manitobant]

Does this species usually make satellite nests?  From what I've read so far on google It appears the queen is hard to pick out due being close in size to the workers.  I dumped the dirt from the potted plant into a tupaware container and brought them home.  From what I see there are about 15 ants.  I did put in a test tube in the tupaware container hoping they move in there but they seem to really like being in the dirt.  Or, should I sift  through the dirt and catch them and place them into a MiniHearth???  
 
What do they like to eat?

I would use the mini hearth, as I wouldn't risk losing such a rare species.

[ponerinecat]

crickets and honey, and nice find. trap jaws seem to like flowerpots.

[Aaron567]

Odontomachus ruginodis, a very common exotic ant in Florida that is introduced from the Caribbean and tends to displace the native Odontomachus species due to their larger colonies and faster growth. If you wish to keep them, they'll need a high-humidity environment and some substrate for the larvae to spin their cocoons. They also need to be fed small, soft bodied insects (that they're able to bring to the nest) every day or almost every day. Fruit flies work best but I find that they'll take crickets to the nest and tear them into smaller pieces for the larvae to eat. Odontomachus in general can be very finicky with substrate and food, and any larvae that fail to spin their cocoon are automatically eaten. The larvae are very fast-growing and are eating almost constantly, so any period of no food for more than 3 days or so will force the workers to feed the larvae and pupae to each other. Honey, sugar-water, or carbs of any kind are thought to be relatively useless to Odontomachus, as even the workers of the Florida Odontomachus are highly insectivorous unlike the workers of most ants which survive solely on carbs.

[gsparrow]

Thanks for all the info guys/girls!!!!!  Hopefully there is a queen in there somewhere.  Can't decide if I should keep them in the tub with some dirt or move to Minihearth - they do really seem to like being in the dirt.  If any go near the entrance to the test tube that I have laying in there, they quickly move away from it.