I could use some help to figure out which lasius sp. queen she is. There is a thread about how her founding is going in the journals section with more photos and videos, but these are the best ID photos.
1. Location of collection (ie: park/area, city/town, state/province, country). You can be more specific here than in the title, but please include the information in the title here as well.
She was walking down a NYC sidewalk at about 2pm in a big rush. Just waddling along.
2. Date of collection (more important for ID's of queens).
July 30
3. Habitat of collection (ie: desert scrub, oak forest, riparian, etc.).
Very urban, the nearest park is about a quarter of a mile away.
4. Length (to the nearest millimeter or 1/16th of an inch.) Millimeters is preferred. Length is measured from the tip of the head to the tip of the gaster, excluding antennae, legs and stingers. Do not estimate, use a ruler! No matter how good you think you are at guessing the length of something, it's amazing how far off you can be sometimes.
1.1 to 1.2 cm
11.0mm to 12.0mm
less than 1/2 an inch.
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture (ie: dark redish-orange head, velvet-like gaster, translucent, hairy/bald, shiny/dull, etc.). Be as specific as possible, and you can use the diagram below if you need it.
She is very dark brown. Under bright light it's clear that she is walnut dark brown not black. Her head is slightly darker than her body.
6. Distinguishing characteristics (ie: one petiole node/two petiole nodes, length and orientation of any spines or bumps on the thorax or waist, head shape, eye size, shape of mandibles, number of antennal segments, etc.)
She has one rather sharp petiole.
7. Anything else distinctive (ie: odor, behavior, characteristics relative to others in the colony, etc.).
Not parasitic. Accepted pupa as a brood boost from my lasius neoniger colony. Has not opened them yet. Has laid eggs.
Edited by futurebird, August 8 2021 - 9:29 AM.
