5 replies to this topic

[CatsnAnts]

I caught lots of queens that I thought were S. molesta a while back on my blacklight during sunrise, but recently I have caught more S. molesta during the evening that look nothing like what I previously found. I do realize that they can have "color variation", but these also have a very noticeable size and structure difference. Here are photos of the ants that I'm almost positive are S. molesta:

^^^ These are around 5 mm long and were found during the daylight hours of the evening in mid-July.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here are the images of the "so called" S. molesta queens that look nothing like the previous queens:

^^^ These queens are just about 3.7 mm long, and were found during sunrise on my black-light at the end of June.

 

Also, sorry that the images aren't "sharp", I need to figure out a way to clean my test-tubes/reduce glare. I'm curious if the latter species could be S. texana or S. carolinensis?

Edited by CatsnAnts, July 25 2020 - 9:16 AM.

[ANTdrew]

I found two of the second type of golden queens you have in the crud in my house’s gutters this morning. I think this is a confusing species complex.

[Aaron567]

The smaller, yellow queens are Solenopsis carolinensis. They fly in the mornings, like nearly all other thief ant Solenopsis. S. molesta is an outlier in that it flies at dusk.

[CatsnAnts]

The smaller, yellow queens are Solenopsis carolinensis. They fly in the mornings, like nearly all other thief ant Solenopsis. S. molesta is an outlier in that it flies at dusk.

Good to know! Thank you!

[TennesseeAnts]

The smaller, yellow queens are Solenopsis carolinensis. They fly in the mornings, like nearly all other thief ant Solenopsis. S. molesta is an outlier in that it flies at dusk.

I concur. 

[Antkid12]

 

The smaller, yellow queens are Solenopsis carolinensis. They fly in the mornings, like nearly all other thief ant Solenopsis. S. molesta is an outlier in that it flies at dusk.

I concur. 

 

Me too.