7 replies to this topic

[AntiMurial]

Hello, 
two days ago I found an Ant that I thought was some normal Lasius species so I let her sit in a testtube setup. Now that I gave her a closer look and took pictures with my macro lense I don't know what to think anymore. I'm pretty new to this so I don't know if this color pattern is normal but I couldn't find anything similar when I googled it. 
Not only does she have these very red stripes and also kinda red eyes, but even her eggs are a bit red... 
 
I live in germany and caught her on a pretty hot day (27ºC).
Can someone please tell me what ant that is and if that's normal?

 

 

 

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/LZmGbNN

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 

[Manitobant]

Lasius niger. Really not sure why she is red though, were you feeding her red sugar water or something?

[ZTYguy]

If she wasn’t fed any sugar water with red dye then it is probably a parasitic infection. I thought a load of my colonies had it but it was just that my dye was super bright and showed through everything. I figured it was the water because when I didn’t feed any sugar water with dye the cocoons were the typical coloration while when the water was dyed, the cocoons were the bright pinkish color that I’ve grown to love. Anyways, those are the two options. Only time will tell and there is basically nothing you can do if it is the infection. The queen might get workers and live or she might die tomorrow. After reading up on the infection, it doesn’t seem to be quite consistent in lethality.

[AntiMurial]

Lasius niger. Really not sure why she is red though, were you feeding her red sugar water or something?

 

If she wasn’t fed any sugar water with red dye then it is probably a parasitic infection. I thought a load of my colonies had it but it was just that my dye was super bright and showed through everything. I figured it was the water because when I didn’t feed any sugar water with dye the cocoons were the typical coloration while when the water was dyed, the cocoons were the bright pinkish color that I’ve grown to love. Anyways, those are the two options. Only time will tell and there is basically nothing you can do if it is the infection. The queen might get workers and live or she might die tomorrow. After reading up on the infection, it doesn’t seem to be quite consistent in lethality.

 

Thank you for your answer! And no, I didn't fed her at all. Just clean, undyed water in the testtube. That is such a weird infection then... that her brute and eyes get red too

Maybe she ate or drank something red before I caught her. I live in a city.

I will just give her some darkness and peace and lets see if she makes it 

[Manitobant]

Yeah this is really strange. I’ve never seen anything like it and ants eyes don’t normally change color.

Edited by Manitobant, July 15 2022 - 6:58 AM.

[ANTdrew]

Must be from an urban colony that had recently been feeding on some red drink spilled nearby.

[NotAxo]

Gaterade?

[AntsTopia]

This is cool. Make a journal so we can see If she has like red Niger workers. Wouldn't that be something.