13 replies to this topic

[Flu1d]

1. Location (on a map) of collection: Pensacola, Florida , USA
2. Date of collection: 11/05/2022
3. Habitat of collection: Sitting on top of what I thought was an abandoned anthill were 2 of these.. 1 with 2 wings, another with 1.
4. Length (from head to gaster): pretty close to a CM full length
5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: Pictures, but black and maybe a reddish timt up closer to front/head? But still dark
6. Distinguishing characteristics:
7. Distinguishing behavior: Not shy, trying out the berries, tried the water. Has 1 major and a few small workers for both sets of queens.
8. Nest description: Pictures at bottom

9. Nuptial flight time and date: I'm not exactly sure. They were both sitting on top of an anthill (it was active, I thought maybe it was abandoned at first).

<a href="https://ibb.co/PmWxsLD"><imgsrc="https://i.ibb.co/xCghKkF/1105221025a.jpg" alt="1105221025a" border="0"></a>

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<a href="https://ibb.co/304gqTB"><imgsrc="https://i.ibb.co/zSQqYmG/1105221103.jpg" alt="1105221103" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://imgbb.com/'>upload photo album</a><br />

[Flu1d]

<a href="https://ibb.co/kQn22Cb"><imgsrc="https://i.ibb.co/kQn22Cb/1105221032f.jpg" alt="1105221032f" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/TqTDTcS"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/TqTDTcS/1105221032e.jpg" alt="1105221032e" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/tqQWMyt"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/tqQWMyt/1105221032d.jpg" alt="1105221032d" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/cY5m6Xt"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/cY5m6Xt/1105221032b.jpg" alt="1105221032b" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/VQKLrSL"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/VQKLrSL/1105221032.jpg" alt="1105221032" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/rx2th18"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/rx2th18/1105221025d.jpg" alt="1105221025d" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/YRC9qrN"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/YRC9qrN/1105221025c.jpg" alt="1105221025c" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/PmWxsLD"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/PmWxsLD/1105221025a.jpg" alt="1105221025a" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/yQd0XCJ"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/yQd0XCJ/1105221103a.jpg" alt="1105221103a" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/304gqTB"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/304gqTB/1105221103.jpg" alt="1105221103" border="0"></a>
I'm so sorry, I havent used a forum in over 12 years and I forgot whoch link to use for imbedding an image.i just tried 2 different kinds, neither worked. The links work, however.

[Flu1d]

They love raspberries. I have collected some workers and majors for each queen. I saw a third but left it be. There is a live roly poly and a crushed one for each colony, as well. They all seem to be getting along. I am hoping these queens have bred, if not I will release them they only produce males or not at all.

[Mettcollsuss]

Solenopsis invicta

[FinWins]

Looks more like Solenopsis geminata to me 

[FinWins]

It’s like they have the head of S. invicta but the color of a dark form geminata

[LowQualityAnts]

Just throwing this out there I have no experience with solenopsis but could it be a hybrid or something?

[Mettcollsuss]

Not geminata, geminata have a squarer head shape and barely exist in Florida anymore. They've been almost completely wiped out by invicta, only a couple small populations hanging on. I doubt they could hybridize either, they're not actually that closely related, invicta are in the Solenopsis saevissima group and geminata are in the Solenopsis geminata group. There are hybrids within groups -- such as invicta x richteri in TN and northern AL, MS, GA, and a suspect geminata-group hybrid in TX -- but none between groups.

[Flu1d]

Thanks for these replies! I didn't know that about geminata, them not being in the area much anymore. there's a group of Pheidole ants.. I would love a queen of theirs but I'm not gonna dig and risk hurting her so I will wait until I see one in the open, hopefully after a nuptial!

I would love a Pheidole Dentata queen, I will be moving to New Mexico and that species is native to both there and here so I wouldn't risk an invasive species incident if they got loose somehow.

I released all of these queens and their workers back to their original anthill. Everyone was welcomed warmly, I made sure before I left. I also let them keep all of the berries and the roly poly's. I do not want to raise a fire ant colony (I am brand new to the ant world, I saw a queen and got her with very little knowledge and after doing some homework, it seems they may be a little more upkeep than a typical colony based on how good they are at escaping as well as how fast they grow and how big). I think something a little easier to start with at first might be smarter for me and perhaps I can work my way up there!

I love how much I am learning from this group and I appreciate you being so kind and noob friendly. It really makes this an enjoyable community to learn from, I already get a little nervous because at the end of the day I am gambling with somethings life, and it is very important to me to do it right and be as careful as possible. You guys help me feel confident and that, for the most part, puts my mind at ease.

[T.C.]

Because S invicta are invasive, if you have them again and are going to release them you can do the general native species a favor by freezing them.

[Flu1d]

Was it a mistake releasing them back in their original hill? What does freezing them do? I just assumed I wasnt changing the course of what's in my area other than giving them a berry each and a couple crushed roly polyps.. But I will do what is recommended. What does freezing them first do?

[LowQualityAnts]

Freezing them will kill them. TC was suggesting that because releasing the fire ants might hurt yor local ecosystem more.

[ANTdrew]

Freezing would kill an invasive colony. Releasing them gives the colony another chance to grow and spread even more colonies. Don’t beat yourself up, though. There is no getting the invicta genie back in the bottle now and one colony here or there won’t change much.

[Flu1d]

I will ensure to not release any more. I know that, at least here in Florida, invasive species such as Lionfish are not allowed to be released and must be killed. The good thing about that is, Lionfish are delicious and do not need to be wasted.

I was not sure if the same applied to invicta fire ants and I did not want to be the new guy who killed some invasive queens if there was a better way.. However, this forum has once again taught me something special. Do you guys recommend finding Invicta nests and eliminating them, at least in my yard? Or is it best to let them do their thing, but if I accidently catch more, say after a nuptial, make sure to freeze them?

ANTdrew, thank you for those words of encouragement. I was feeling pretty badly while reading at first, I never wanna do something that would affect my local environment negatively.