18 replies to this topic

[PTAntFan]

1. Location of collection: Agua Dulce, CA (Vasquez Rocks) Beneath a rock.
2. Date of collection: 5/11/2015
3. Habitat of collection: desert scrub
4. Length (from head to gaster): 4-5 mm
5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: Dark, dark brown, with dark/light brown gaster, see photos.
6. Distinguishing characteristics: Single petiole.  Most hairs towards back of thorax and Gaster.
7. Anything else distinctive: Yellow legs.
8. Nest description: in the moist soil under a rock

 

 

Apologies for quality through test tube glass:

[dspdrew]

Maybe Pheidole with small spines.

[PTAntFan]

oooh.  That would be awesome! 

[dspdrew]

Or some sort of Solenopsis...

[cpman]

From the 2-segmented club, I don't think it is Pheidole. It could be Solenopsis.

Edited by cpman, May 12 2015 - 5:16 PM.

[PTAntFan]

Solenopsis works too.  You mentioned Monomorium before your edit, I think they are common in they area.  What about Brachy?

[cpman]

Not Brachymyrmex or Monomorium as the former has no postpetiole, and the latter has a 3-segmented club. I remembered wrong about their antennal club.

[Gregory2455]

The head though! So Monomorium-like!

[cpman]

I do agree on that.

[gcsnelling]

Try Solenopsis truncorum, it is the only black Solenopsis in California.

[Gregory2455]

That does not even show up on the antweb page for California.

[dspdrew]

I don't think everything is on there.

[gcsnelling]

It is not common, I have only collected it in a couple of places such as Azusa cyn. I also colletced alates from a pool in Apple Valley.

[PTAntFan]

One of these two queens has started producing eggs.  She seems to be doing quite well so I added a couple of shots with her brood in case it helps narrow down the ID.

Oh and I was able to measure her this morning.  She is 4mm.

[Jonathan21700]

Are you sure the club is 2 segmented?

[PTAntFan]

I am pretty sure I'll need a worker under Drew's or other micrososcope to definitively ID this sp. But now that workers have emerged I was hoping we could narrow it down to the genus.  These ants are TINY!  The workers are 1.2mm max right now.  I took a couple more pics and I've been feeding them flightless flies which they demolish, leaving just tiny hard bits behind.  No interest in honey water from what I can tell.

 

If anyone feels confident about the genus please shout it out.

 

[James C. Trager]

The large size of the queen and dark color of the workers of the absolutely certain Solenopsis species, are consistent with gcsnelling's suggestion of S. truncorum. Nice find and good rearing success!

[PTAntFan]

I have them in my largest test tube with the least amount of water, so we'll see how it goes.

[dspdrew]

That's one species around here that I haven't found yet, let alone had a colony of. Pretty cool.