199 replies to this topic

[camponotuskeeper]

This species in a new genus, volantemica. The species is volantemica campus and it has 5 worker castes. These are sage brush seed harvester ants. They have minor workers which are 2-3 millimeters long and have a faint bioluminescence about them because they need light to tend to the aphids these ants need for to get their sugar source. The minor workers also have a potent paralyzing acid. These ants are a light yellow with a brownish red thorax. The aphids are specialized and feed only off of the roots of sagebrush. Then there are median workers which are 8-10 millimeters long and dig out the tunnels and these workers can become repletes, and these also have acid. The median workers are a grayish green to blend into the sagebrush. Then their are the major workers which are 15-18 millimeters long which defend the nest and carry the larger debris from tunnel digging. The major workers also have specialized trap jaws and a very painful sting. Then their are super major workers which are 25-30 millimeters long and have huge powerful mandibles which they use to defend the nest and crush of seeds these also have a painful stinger. Both majors and super majors are a light yellow with a dark head.They have a special worker caste which have wings, these fly out to gather sage brush seeds which are all they eat, these are about 20-25 millimeters long. They wings on the workers allow them to search over an extensive area for the seeds. Which they need to survive, they gather large amounts of these seeds and keep them in huge storage rooms. They then slowly eat these seeds over the year and then when the seeds are ripe they go into a frenzy and collect as many of the seeds as possible. These ants can keep away the invasive argentine, fire, and Asian needle ants by their battle tactics. The huge super majors form several lines each several ants long. They minor and median workers swarm around the majors and super majors with their gasters over their back ready to spray acid at intruders. The majors are slightly in front of the super majors with their trap jaws ready to snap apart attacking ants. The fifth worker caste flies above the attacking ants ready to spray acid as these also have acid. This species can handle any ants with their broad troop size, and aerial troops.These ants are not aggressive to other ants as long as they do not attack the nest or their food sources. They are perfectly happy to be left alone and try to ignore other ants. The way these ants reproduce with huge nuptial flights. These are relatively rare, and have colonies of several thousand. The queens are semi claustral and spend the rest of the year collecting sagebrush seeds after they have their nuptial flight in late June, early July. Keeping a colony is relatively impractical as they are extremely picky and will except almost no seed but sage brush seeds. This ant species is strictly monogynous and will not tolerate more than 1 queen.

Edited by camponotuskeeper, November 12 2019 - 11:01 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Off topic but I just realized some one celled organisms are bigger than ants.

Yep. Some living at the bottom of the ocean are 10 feet in diameter.

[camponotuskeeper]

 

Off topic but I just realized some one celled organisms are bigger than ants.

Yep. Some living at the bottom of the ocean are 10 feet in diameter.

 

Really, that is insane

[ponerinecat]

 

Off topic but I just realized some one celled organisms are bigger than ants.

Yep. Some living at the bottom of the ocean are 10 feet in diameter.

 

those are colonies of one celled organisms. The biggest one celled organism is around 4 mm. Twice the size of most pheidole.

[Kaelwizard]

There is a very big amoeba I heard of. (As in very big for an amoeba)

[ponerinecat]

There is a very big amoeba I heard of. (As in very big for an amoeba)

look up stentors

[TylrsAnts]

The genus: Oceanmanus a type of ant that lives in the ocean, and fresh water. They have a set of gills and lungs that they use to breath. They live in gas bubbles full of air they have created or dig eleborate nests and seal the nest entrances with bubbles. They can also survive on land but they prefer the water. They have 30 different worker castes- the smallest being near microscopic and the largest being half a foot long. Queens of this genus are 7-9 inches long. The queens are a dark blue marbled with white, appearing to look like sea foam even from close distant. The workers range from pure black to an emerald color and to a pearly white. These ants also have mobile repletes- repletes that can hunt and move around. This species is polygamous and can survive temperatures up to -10000000 kelvins. They have stingers, can spray formic acid, and can release a special toxin that spreads in the water, not affecting the ants but only their prey. You see, high concentrations of this toxin is lethal so these ants can pinpoint exactly what they want to kill. This ant also farms fungus as a back up food supply.

[TennesseeAnts]

The ultra ant!

[ponerinecat]

The genus: Oceanmanus a type of ant that lives in the ocean, and fresh water. They have a set of gills and lungs that they use to breath. They live in gas bubbles full of air they have created or dig eleborate nests and seal the nest entrances with bubbles. They can also survive on land but they prefer the water. They have 30 different worker castes- the smallest being near microscopic and the largest being half a foot long. Queens of this genus are 7-9 inches long. The queens are a dark blue marbled with white, appearing to look like sea foam even from close distant. The workers range from pure black to an emerald color and to a pearly white. These ants also have mobile repletes- repletes that can hunt and move around. This species is polygamous and can survive temperatures up to -10000000 kelvins. They have stingers, can spray formic acid, and can release a special toxin that spreads in the water, not affecting the ants but only their prey. You see, high concentrations of this toxin is lethal so these ants can pinpoint exactly what they want to kill. This ant also farms fungus as a back up food supply.

This is insane. It has passed the limit of interesting and kinda wierd but still interesting, to I-don't-want-this-to-exist-its-a-hot-mess-of-mish-mashed-animals-please-make-it-go-away-and-die-in-a-hole.

[RushmoreAnts]

Psuedolasius dakotensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It inhabits the grasslands, croplands, and suburban environments of the Upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. Like other species in the genus, it is polymorphic. However it is notably larger than other species, with queens reaching up to fifteen mm long. Majors can be even larger, up to twenty-two mm in length. Nuptial flights occur from late July to mid August. Dealate queens often found nests together, and biologists have conducted studies which have displayed their success in groups as opposed to individuals. colonies can reach several hundred thousand workers, and queens have a unique tendency to become overly physogastric. Their queens have the highest rate of physogastrism ever recorded in ants, and even succeeding some termites. Minors also can become repletes, which makes the species even more favorable to the eye. 

Just a quick question - do we, at the time, have enough knowledge of ant genetics to perhaps create this species? We would simply need to cross-breed (via artificial fertilization) a Psuedolasius sp. with perhaps Lasius flavus, make the queens larger, insert a gene from Myrmecocystus sp. which would give the species repletes, and insert a gene for extreme polymorphism? Keep in mind this is pure speculation, and I have no back round in genetics, so please have mercy... 

[ponerinecat]

 

Psuedolasius dakotensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It inhabits the grasslands, croplands, and suburban environments of the Upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. Like other species in the genus, it is polymorphic. However it is notably larger than other species, with queens reaching up to fifteen mm long. Majors can be even larger, up to twenty-two mm in length. Nuptial flights occur from late July to mid August. Dealate queens often found nests together, and biologists have conducted studies which have displayed their success in groups as opposed to individuals. colonies can reach several hundred thousand workers, and queens have a unique tendency to become overly physogastric. Their queens have the highest rate of physogastrism ever recorded in ants, and even succeeding some termites. Minors also can become repletes, which makes the species even more favorable to the eye. 

Just a quick question - do we, at the time, have enough knowledge of ant genetics to perhaps create this species? We would simply need to cross-breed (via artificial fertilization) a Psuedolasius sp. with perhaps Lasius flavus, make the queens larger, insert a gene from Myrmecocystus sp. which would give the species repletes, and insert a gene for extreme polymorphism? Keep in mind this is pure speculation, and I have no back round in genetics, so please have mercy... 

 

nope. extremely hard if not impossible to crossbreed different genera, especially if they live in different places

[RushmoreAnts]

cross-breed (via artificial fertilization)

No mating required.

[camponotuskeeper]

cross-breed (via artificial fertilization)

No mating required.

You’re talking about making a gmo ant. Right?
I think to do this you could not mate them but actually genetically modify their genome.

Edited by camponotuskeeper, November 18 2019 - 4:53 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

I believe you would be correct in that statement.

[NickAnter]

Psuedolasius dakotensis is a species of ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It inhabits the grasslands, croplands, and suburban environments of the Upper Midwest and Canada's Prairie Provinces. Like other species in the genus, it is polymorphic. However it is notably larger than other species, with queens reaching up to fifteen mm long. Majors can be even larger, up to twenty-two mm in length. Nuptial flights occur from late July to mid August. Dealate queens often found nests together, and biologists have conducted studies which have displayed their success in groups as opposed to individuals. colonies can reach several hundred thousand workers, and queens have a unique tendency to become overly physogastric. Their queens have the highest rate of physogastrism ever recorded in ants, and even succeeding some termites. Minors also can become repletes, which makes the species even more favorable to the eye.

If I ever were to genetically engineer an ant, this would be it due to its simplicity (and its coolness). If it was approved for out-of-state shipping, it would make much money. Beside- who wants boring old honey pots when they can have MAJORS and are POLYGYNOUS! 

Odontomachus still take the cake.

[Mdrogun]

Pheidole thiccus

 

Pheidole thiccus lost their ability to produce majors throughout some point in their evolutionary history. They are small (1.5-2mm) and brownish-black. Monogynous as well. They make their living by foraging for food scraps and are incredibly timid. Choosing to die rather than fight. Their distribution ranges from Southern Canada to the temperate United States.

[Manitobant]

Camponotus vespus

Camponotus vespus, also known as the paper ant or antjacket, is one of the strangest and most interesting ants in the entire world. It is a mimic of yellowjacket species, both in appearance and behavior. The ants are yellow with black stripes and build paper nests in wood, underground, in tree hollows and even in walls. They don't have comb cells like yellowjackets and instead build complex chambers and tunnels out of paper, which is covered by an envelope that grows bigger as the colony expands their nest. This envelope can often extend outside of the nest cavity in mature colonies, which often confuses people into thinking that they have stumbled upon a giant wasp nest. Like most camponotus, the species is polymorphic with small minors and large majors. Another very interesting thing about this species is their habit of sending out huge foraging parties to collect wood to turn into paper. A scout will find a site and the colony will send out lots of workers and majors which will collect as much of it as they can carry. They have also been observed to raid entire wasp nests for paper as well as for food. When nuptial flights come around, new queens will carry a ball of paper in their mouth which they will use to start the construction of their nest. This paper isn't enough for the queen however, and she will forage for paper during the founding stage, although she doesnt need to eat during this time.

[ponerinecat]

Camponotus vespus

Camponotus vespus, also known as the paper ant or antjacket, is one of the strangest and most interesting ants in the entire world. It is a mimic of yellowjacket species, both in appearance and behavior. The ants are yellow with black stripes and build paper nests in wood, underground, in tree hollows and even in walls. They don't have comb cells like yellowjackets and instead build complex chambers and tunnels out of paper, which is covered by an envelope that grows bigger as the colony expands their nest. This envelope can often extend outside of the nest cavity in mature colonies, which often confuses people into thinking that they have stumbled upon a giant wasp nest. Like most camponotus, the species is polymorphic with small minors and large majors. Another very interesting thing about this species is their habit of sending out huge foraging parties to collect wood to turn into paper. A scout will find a site and the colony will send out lots of workers and majors which will collect as much of it as they can carry. They have also been observed to raid entire wasp nests for paper as well as for food. When nuptial flights come around, new queens will carry a ball of paper in their mouth which they will use to start the construction of their nest. This paper isn't enough for the queen however, and she will forage for paper during the founding stage, although she doesnt need to eat during this time.

This is a very probable ant, though camponotus is probably not the right genus for this behavior.

[DDD101DDD]

 

Camponotus vespus

Camponotus vespus, also known as the paper ant or antjacket, is one of the strangest and most interesting ants in the entire world. It is a mimic of yellowjacket species, both in appearance and behavior. The ants are yellow with black stripes and build paper nests in wood, underground, in tree hollows and even in walls. They don't have comb cells like yellowjackets and instead build complex chambers and tunnels out of paper, which is covered by an envelope that grows bigger as the colony expands their nest. This envelope can often extend outside of the nest cavity in mature colonies, which often confuses people into thinking that they have stumbled upon a giant wasp nest. Like most camponotus, the species is polymorphic with small minors and large majors. Another very interesting thing about this species is their habit of sending out huge foraging parties to collect wood to turn into paper. A scout will find a site and the colony will send out lots of workers and majors which will collect as much of it as they can carry. They have also been observed to raid entire wasp nests for paper as well as for food. When nuptial flights come around, new queens will carry a ball of paper in their mouth which they will use to start the construction of their nest. This paper isn't enough for the queen however, and she will forage for paper during the founding stage, although she doesnt need to eat during this time.

This is a very probable ant, though camponotus is probably not the right genus for this behavior.

 

I think a polyrachius species may have fitted the description better.

[ponerinecat]

 

 

Camponotus vespus

Camponotus vespus, also known as the paper ant or antjacket, is one of the strangest and most interesting ants in the entire world. It is a mimic of yellowjacket species, both in appearance and behavior. The ants are yellow with black stripes and build paper nests in wood, underground, in tree hollows and even in walls. They don't have comb cells like yellowjackets and instead build complex chambers and tunnels out of paper, which is covered by an envelope that grows bigger as the colony expands their nest. This envelope can often extend outside of the nest cavity in mature colonies, which often confuses people into thinking that they have stumbled upon a giant wasp nest. Like most camponotus, the species is polymorphic with small minors and large majors. Another very interesting thing about this species is their habit of sending out huge foraging parties to collect wood to turn into paper. A scout will find a site and the colony will send out lots of workers and majors which will collect as much of it as they can carry. They have also been observed to raid entire wasp nests for paper as well as for food. When nuptial flights come around, new queens will carry a ball of paper in their mouth which they will use to start the construction of their nest. This paper isn't enough for the queen however, and she will forage for paper during the founding stage, although she doesnt need to eat during this time.

This is a very probable ant, though camponotus is probably not the right genus for this behavior.

 

I think a polyrachius species may have fitted the description better.

 

There is one type of weaving camponotus, so both fit, but polyrhachis fit better. Considering this is paper, a more "primitive ant" would work best.