7 replies to this topic

[RushmoreAnts]

A friend wanted me to ID these. They were found in the Cincinnati area. I took a few pictures of her, and I now have her.

 

1. Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati area
2. July 12, 2022
3. Zoo/Gardens
4. 8mm
5.Mostly shiny black, the bottom has a noticeable reddish hue
6. Petiole is distinctly different from cerasi, and is nearly identical to the Antwiki specimen of pilosa. Her eggs are roughly twice as large as cerasi eggs. Her body is stouter and gaster is rounder than cerasi, who's gaster is slightly more elongated.
8. Large Crematogaster workers from a large colony were observed in the general vicinity. They were ~4 mm long and had a reddish/brownish head and thorax, and a black abdomen. They were noticeably stockier and heavily built than cerasi or lineolata.

9. The queens were found at around 10 in the morning, yet the flights were just finishing, and could possibly have been going on for hours before. No alates were observed during midday.

 

The queen:

 

AntWiki's C. pilosa specimen:

 

Notice how similar the petiole and back of the thorax are in both images. cerasi lacks the large spine on the back of the thorax which both these specimens have. Other aspects of the petiole are identical as well.

 

Now observe how large the eggs are in proportion to the 8mm queen. They are at least 3 times larger than my Tetramorium queen's eggs, and at least twice as large as my cerasi colony's eggs.

 

Video

Edited by AntsDakota, July 17 2022 - 11:39 AM.

[NickAnter]

Looks like C. ashmeadi to me. pilosa is super hairy, hence the name.

[ANTdrew]

I think the flight time lines up for ashmeadi as well.

[Ants_Dakota]

Looks like C. ashmeadi to me. pilosa is super hairy, hence the name.

the petiole does not seem to match as well as pilosa, in my opinion

[Aaron567]

I'd say it's probably C. pilosa based on the flight time and the fact she was found during the day. I've found that large ashmeadi flights generally take place during the day later in the year around September-December, except for a couple of odd mated queens I've gotten at night during the summer. I observed a large flight of C. pilosa about two weeks ago in Tennessee around noon, and another flight of them here in Florida about 10 days ago. These photos probably aren't close/well-lit enough to show the numerous erect hairs that should be present. And, I'm not sure how large C. cerasi and lineolata queens are, but pilosa queens are definitely the largest of the Crematogaster queens I've found... 8 millimeters sounds about right. Either way it should be quite easy to tell what it is once workers arrive.

[RushmoreAnts]

I'd say it's probably C. pilosa based on the flight time and the fact she was found during the day. I've found that large ashmeadi flights generally take place during the day later in the year around September-December, except for a couple of odd mated queens I've gotten at night during the summer. I observed a large flight of C. pilosa about two weeks ago in Tennessee around noon, and another flight of them here in Florida about 10 days ago. These photos probably aren't close/well-lit enough to show the numerous erect hairs that should be present. And, I'm not sure how large C. cerasi and lineolata queens are, but pilosa queens are definitely the largest of the Crematogaster queens I've found... 8 millimeters sounds about right. Either way it should be quite easy to tell what it is once workers arrive.

I concur, as the lighting is bad. Also I know ashmeadi probably exist in that area, although they’re not recorded, while pilosa are recorded in abundance in that tristate area. Her large size and the large size of the workers she was found by as well as the physical similarities lead me to believe she is pilosa, although I’m not willing to rule out ashmeadi as a possibility. Fairly certain she’s either/or, as she’s not cerasi or lineolata, and the only other species in that area is laeviuscula, and she most certainly isn’t that. I will revive this thread once she gets workers.

[ANTdrew]

Awesome find in that case! Hope they can make a journal.

[RushmoreAnts]

Awesome find in that case! Hope they can make a journal.

Thanks! He actually found three, and gave one to me. AntWiki records the species as Vulnerable (the category above Endangered for those who don't know), and they seem understudied, so I would love to document them.