6 replies to this topic

[hope2eat]

I currently have two queens on my possession. If you look in the photo, the top queen was examined by someone in this forum as c. Pennsylvanicus. The bottom queen I just assumed it was the same since it was caught around the same time and area. Now when I look at them closely the bottom queen has stripes along the bottom and she is much smaller (both size and cocoon size) than the top queen. Are my eyes playing tricks on me or is she different??

Also, the 5th and 6th picture you see is a differen ant queen.. or I'm it is. I'm not 100% sure what species this is or matter of fact I'm npt even sure if she's a queen haha. She's been just sitting on that cotton for days now without producing a single egg. Ca you guys tell me what's wrong with her??

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Edited by hope2eat, July 7 2015 - 2:13 PM.

[Ants4fun]

The smaller Camponotus looks like C. Herculeanus today me. The other queen is some Formica sp.

[hope2eat]

Doesn't c. Herculeanus species have redish color?? I don't think mine has that kind of feature.

[Ants4fun]

Yes I definately see I slightly reddish hue on the thorax and legs.

[Mercutia]

The first two queens are definitely Camponotus. They look like C. pennsylvanicus to me. Sometimes there are some small size discrepancies with queens but not largely.

 

The last queen looks like Formica (possibly subsericea). Formica tend to be easily disturbed so its possible that you're stressing her out too much which will cause her to withhold egg laying. I suggest leaving her in a dark undisturbed place for a month before checking on her.

[Jonathan21700]

The last one is Formica. Leave her for a week without disturbing.

Edited by Jonathan21700, July 16 2015 - 11:26 AM.

[WeatherAnt]

Where (what part of the country / world) did you find these? Knowing the location helps significantly to narrow down possible choices ... since many difference species look very similar to each other.