11 replies to this topic

[Domagoj]

Following the pattern of queens finding me, instead of the other way around, an acquaintance came to visit me at work and on his shoulder, unbeknownst to him, he brought in this little thing. I quickly scooped her up and testtubified her.

 

 

 

Sorry about the glare on the last one, but it was the best side shot I managed to get.

 

1. Location of collection: Zagreb, Croatia, however, I think I should point out that last night the acquaintance came back from seaside (Istria, Croatia) and stopped on multiple locations during his travel, so if the ant came into his car and transferred to his person, it could be from a much larger area. That is not as likely since he walked from his home to my work, but I suppose I should mention it.

 

2. Date of collection:  Tuesday 22 September 2020, noon local, or any time during Monday 21st afternoon.
3. Habitat of collection: my workplace is in the city center, and the acquaintance lives nearby. He walked from his home to my workplace.
4. Length: aprox. 6 mm
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture: dark brown, almost black head and thorax, brown abdomen with light brown banding
6. Distinguishing characteristics: sorry, don't know nearly enough to spot something as distinguishing, but she dropped her wings about two hours after I caught her (as opposed to my other queen that was caught two months ago and still has her wings (mostly).
7. Anything else distinctive: nothing comes to mind
8. Nest description: No nest, was brought into a basement

9. Nuptial flight time and date: I didn't see the nuptial flight, but I'd say 22 September 2020, morning or 21 Sep. afternoon. In Zagreb, it was warm (not hot) the last few days, but started raining this evening. On the seaside it was warm and windy the last few days.

 

Any guesses?

Thank you!

[TechAnt]

I'm puzzled, it could be Camponotus but I'm unsure..

[Barristan]

Solenopsis fugax queen. (Size, color, they also have nuptial flights currently)

It can't be Camponotus because it is a Myrmicinae because the mesosoma is attached to the gaster by 2 distinct segments.

 

Edited by Barristan, September 22 2020 - 9:36 AM.

[Antkeeper01]

I feel like an idiot for trying to look on antweb not on antmaps

[Domagoj]

Solenopsis fugax queen

The descriptions and images I found fit very well what I can see on my queen. Thank you.

Fourmishome says that S. fugax are "extremely polygynous". Will she be ok on her own, or should I try and find her a roommate?

Also, it says that they are kind of pricks and pray on other ants brood. Will I be able to feed them regular worms, crickets and roaches instead?

[Manitobant]

Solenopsis fugax is an interesting species because polygyny depends on the location the queen was caught. In some areas, they are polygynous and in some areas they're monogynous. Whatever the case she will be fine on her own though if you find a lot more queens you could see if your population is polygyne. Also, although they're main diet in the wild is ant brood, they are not picky and will eat just about anything in captivity.

Edited by Manitobant, September 22 2020 - 10:07 AM.

[Barristan]

Also, it says that they are kind of pricks and pray on other ants brood. Will I be able to feed them regular worms, crickets and roaches instead?

 

 

They will adapt to normal food, there are also colonies in the wild which feed on dead insects and sugary water. They tend to even produce more major workers than the ones you feed on other ant colony's brood. 

 

I kept a colony (unfortunately it died due too mold or CO2 it produced). At the beginning colony growth is slow but if they have around 50+ workers they will start growing like crazy. Also note that the queen won't probably have workers before hibernation.

Edited by Barristan, September 22 2020 - 10:43 AM.

[Ants_Dakota]

They have a cool coloration. Good luck!

[Domagoj]

Solenopsis fugax is an interesting species because polygyny depends on the location the queen was caught. In some areas, they are polygynous and in some areas they're monogynous. Whatever the case she will be fine on her own though if you find a lot more queens you could see if your population is polygyne. Also, although they're main diet in the wild is ant brood, they are not picky and will eat just about anything in captivity.

That's interesting!

 

 

Also, it says that they are kind of pricks and pray on other ants brood. Will I be able to feed them regular worms, crickets and roaches instead?

 

 

They will adapt to normal food, there are also colonies in the wild which feed on dead insects and sugary water. They tend to even produce more major workers than the ones you feed on other ant colony's brood. 

 

I kept a colony (unfortunately it died due too mold or CO2 it produced). At the beginning colony growth is slow but if they have around 50+ workers they will start growing like crazy. Also note that the queen won't probably have workers before hibernation.

 

Yeah, October is upon us. Days are becoming noticeably shorter. I'll need to revisit my hibernation setup.

 

 

They have a cool coloration. Good luck!

She is pretty. Thanks.

[Domagoj]

I found another one of these. This one landed on my shoulder.

[ANTdrew]

Cool! You could combine them.

[Domagoj]

Cool! You could combine them.

When would be a good time to do that? ASAP or wait until they have some brood or workers?