7 replies to this topic

[antdoctor]

I found a ton of alates that had landed on a lake in Waverley, Nova Scotia.

 

1. Location of collection: Waverley, Nova Scotia. Found many alates that had landed on the surface of a lake near a wooded area.

2. Date of collection: August 24, 2020
3. Habitat of collection: wooded area
4. Length: 5 mm
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture: looks dark brown to me, possibly black
6. Distinguishing characteristics: unsure
7. Anything else distinctive: n/a
8. Nest description: n/a

9. Nuptial flight time and date: I found them in the early afternoon, not sure of the flight time.
10 . Post the clearest pictures possible of the top, side, and face of the ant in question, and if possible, their nest and the habitat they were collected in.

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[NickAnter]

Looks a bit like a male Lasius to me.

[antdoctor]

I thought it was a male at first too but then i saw much smaller alates mating with these ones. I might head back out and try to collect a male for comparison if they haven't all drowned.

[Spazmops]

That’s very odd, I can’t think of any North American queen that has those bulging eyes. Especially with the huge wing muscles and the very small gaster. Everything about that looks like a drone to me, but I could be wrong.

Edited by Spazmops, August 24 2020 - 10:24 AM.

[antdoctor]

Well, the more I think about it the less confident I am. There were lots of bugs on the water. Maybe I saw another bug grappling with a drone on the surface of the water and thought it was two ants mating. I also saw what I thought were Lasius queens flying on the shore earlier in the day, so you're probably right. Thanks for the input. I wasn't planning on keeping this one anyway, just wanted to satisfy my curiosity.

Edited by antdoctor, August 24 2020 - 10:29 AM.

[CheetoLord02]

The pictures are definitely a male. Males can be quite stupid, and during flights they tend to kind of just... stick it anywhere. The other day while blacklighting I observed some Forelius mccooki males attempting to mate with Solenopsis xyloni males. It was definitely an interesting sight to see, so I believe that you could have also seen two males of different species trying to mate.

Edited by CheetoLord02, August 24 2020 - 10:34 AM.

[antdoctor]

Ha, thanks for the info! I consider the mystery solved.

[ANTdrew]

The pictures are definitely a male. Males can be quite stupid, and during flights they tend to kind of just... stick it anywhere. The other day while blacklighting I observed some Forelius mccooki males attempting to mate with Solenopsis xyloni males. It was definitely an interesting sight to see, so I believe that you could have also seen two males of different species trying to mate.

This took a turn for the weird. Lol