1666 replies to this topic

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Species: Strumigenys sp.

Location: Somerdale, New Jersey

Date: 9-30-2015

Time: 4:00 PM

Temperature: 77 F

Humidity: 64%

Wind: Light wind (15mph gusts)

Rain: Off and on all week. I would describe the day as being the calm before the storm, gray skies as far as the eye can see with the occasional drizzle off and on throughout the day. There's a hurricane making its way up the cost too.

[dspdrew]

Those things are so weird looking.

[LC3]

I still can't picture how that species hunt

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I still can't picture how that species hunt

They're basically miniature trap jaw ants.

[dspdrew]

Species: Acromyrmex versicolor

Location: Joshua Tree/Chiriaco Summit, California

Date: 10-18-2015

Time: Morning

Temperature: 73 F

Humidity: 75%

Wind:

Rain: Heavy rain day before

[dspdrew]

Species: Solenopsis xyloni

Location: Joshua Tree/Chiriaco Summit, California

Date: 10-25-2015

Time: 9:00 PM

Temperature: 75 F

Humidity: 40%

Wind: Light

Rain: None.

[dspdrew]

I just got done adding everything from 2015 reported here, and a few older ones from various places online. This added another 450 or so records, bringing the data base up to 2195 records.

[Barristan]

Thank you for your work. Maybe I should continue work on my small angular js app which allows searching for species, filtering (only show species currently swarming). 

[dspdrew]

Unfortunately for some of the members here, this dynamic chart is only going to include North American data--primarily the US and Canada. To do this world-wide would make it about 10 times the amount of work. Especially considering the language barriers when trying to gather data. Once finished, I would gladly give the scripts to anyone who wants to build a data base for other areas.

[Bryce]

Feb 10, 2016 here in Phoenix, Brachymymex Patagonia us were flying and mating. Set up black light and sheet again. Much warmer today males were on the sheet as well. Many sets of discared wings were laying on bottom of sheet I thought that was neat. Collected 5. I Don't know much about these tiny ants but from what I read from others very easy to keep.

Edited by Bryce, February 10 2016 - 7:16 PM.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Feb 10, 2016 here in Phoenix, Brachymymex Patagonia us were flying and mating. Set up black light and sheet again. Much warmer today males were on the sheet as well. Many sets of discared wings were laying on bottom of sheet I thought that was neat. Collected 5. I Don't know much about these tiny ants but from what I read from others very easy to keep.

I wonder if you could provide pictures at all. This species seems to fly at different times of year depending on what state it's found. May, May, July, September? August (males collected)? I'm wondering if they just fly whenever it rains or if there's a species complex at work. 

[kellakk]

I can't speak for other places, but there's some colonies at my school that seem to release alates whenever it's warm enough in the early morning throughout the year.

[Bryce]

Yes I'm going to set up again Sunday night. I'll get some pics of the males. From what research I've read, here in the desert they can fly almost year round. They only seem to fly at night, and for a short time frame. I only catch them right after the sun is completely down and it last about an hour. After that I don't catch them at all.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Yes I'm going to set up again Sunday night. I'll get some pics of the males. From what research I've read, here in the desert they can fly almost year round. They only seem to fly at night, and for a short time frame. I only catch them right after the sun is completely down and it last about an hour. After that I don't catch them at all.

Apparently they're an invasive species.... which is news to me.

[gcsnelling]

Yes pretty darn invasive.

[drtrmiller]

Yes pretty darn invasive.

Any evidence Brachymyrmex harm local flora or fauna?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

I know the local species don't transport Trillium seeds though they nest in the leaf litter around where they grow. They don't exactly displace Aphaenogaster or Myrmica that normally do that though.

[gcsnelling]

Not enough is known yet about how it is impacting areas into which it moves. It is a serious nuisance pest though and readily invades structures when foraging. From direct experience I can tell you, with its large numbers and tiny size it is very difficult to control. I have seen it foraging heavily into trees where presumably it was going for nectar and tending aphids or scales. It also recruits fairly heavily to extra-floral nectaries and I suspect when in large numbers will probably exclude natives. But as I said more study is needed.

[dspdrew]

Apparently Veromessor pergandei have flown in Whitewater, California. Foogoo says he dug up a bunch from founding chambers.

 

Species: Veromessor pergandei

Location: Whitewater, California

Date: 2-13-2016

Time:

Temperature: Hot

Humidity: Very low

Wind:

Rain: None

[Vendayn]

Won't go too off topic in this post. But, I've seen Brachymyrmex and Argentine ants having skirmishes with each other, but nothing major. The Argentine ants mostly win (here in Irvine). But one Brachymyrmex worker can injure multiple Argentine ants. And once they block up their nests, the Argentine ants can't do anything. Argentine ants still seem to dominate them, but they lose a lot of workers in the process and the Brachymyrmex don't really lose any and just hide in their nests.

 

Here in the apartment complex, Brachymyrmex seem to make HUGE colonies (each individual colony is kind of small, but its all inter-connected). In the Summer (their peak numbers) out front of my apartment unit had to have easily been tens of thousands of workers. And in total, had to easily be many thousands of alates all over in the multiple pools (last Summer).

 

Brachymyrmex always lose out to Monomorium ergatogyna though (if the M. ergatogyna have secured the area) and get driven off by them. The Monomorium ergatogyna have a few colonies around. Argentine ants also get completely driven out by areas with heavy densities of Monomorium ergatogyna too. They stand no chance at all against them. Even native Solenopsis have a hard time with M. ergatogyna (though Solenopsis invicta do okay). M. ergatogyna are native, but get giant colonies and they must have superior attacks compared to most other ants. Plus they are pretty small and also better escape artists than Solenopsis molesta...

 

Brachymyrmex themselves aren't very aggressive. I tried putting a tiny Monomorium ergatogyna colony (just workers as a test) out front to get rid of the Argentine ants, and the Brachymyrmex weren't having any of it and swarmed the poor workers by the hundreds. And, Brachymyrmex really don't like Argentine ants though can't do much against a huge horde of them. But, mostly they aren't nearly as aggressive as Argentine ants are.

 

That is my observation with Brachymyrmex in any case from observing them most of last year. And some observations with Monomorium ergatogyna (which have come out of hibernation here in Irvine). Since someone asked about the invasive potential and harm to local fauna, thought I'd put up my own observations.

Edited by Vendayn, February 16 2016 - 9:45 PM.