19 replies to this topic

[BrittonLS]

Or Black and Red? (Brown technically most of the time)

 

Seriously, it makes it hard to tell the difference for a lot of them too! There's Camponotus sayi, Solenopsis invicta, Dorymyrmex bicolor, Pogonomyrmex bicolor!?! On and on. What's up with this color scheme?

 

All these pictures are from http://www.alexanderwild.com/Antsif you couldn't tell

 

 

[LC3]

   

Good question.They all seem to lean in the red spectrum like yellow,orange,red,brown even black if darkened enough I guess its red is just more easier to come by in nature lot's of things are red in nature like lobsters, flowers, birds etc.

[dspdrew]

We need more blue and green ants.

[AntsAreUs]

I don't know if you consider this to be blueish at all?

https://www.google.c...iw=1366&bih=667

[stuhrike]

Well, if it makes you feel better, M. Mexicanus/Navajo are yellow

[Gregory2455]

Or Black and Red? (Brown technically most of the time)

 

Seriously, it makes it hard to tell the difference for a lot of them too! There's Camponotus sayi, Solenopsis invicta, Dorymyrmex bicolor, Pogonomyrmex bicolor!?! On and on. What's up with this color scheme?

 

All these pictures are from http://www.alexanderwild.com/Antsif you couldn't tell

Top left is Dorymyrmex bicolor, top right is Crematogaster sp, bottom left is Pogonomyrmex californicus and bottom right is Odontomachus cf. clarus. How did I do?

[nurbs]

 

Or Black and Red? (Brown technically most of the time)

 

Seriously, it makes it hard to tell the difference for a lot of them too! There's Camponotus sayi, Solenopsis invicta, Dorymyrmex bicolor, Pogonomyrmex bicolor!?! On and on. What's up with this color scheme?

 

All these pictures are from http://www.alexanderwild.com/Antsif you couldn't tell

Top left is Dorymyrmex bicolor, top right is Crematogaster sp, bottom left is Pogonomyrmex californicus and bottom right is Odontomachus cf. clarus. How did I do?

 

 

Are those spines on the back of those Pogonomyrmex? If they are, it is not californicus. But you did good otherwise. Better than I could have.

[nurbs]

We need more blue and green ants.

 

Feed them byformica 

 

On my salsa beans the blue turns green because their gastors are kinda orangey yellow.

[Crystals]

There are a number of yellow and brown species out there, but most are black, red, or a combination of both.

 

Black for camouflage or the ability to heat up in sun on cool mornings?

Red for "I don't taste good, don't eat me"?  Where I am (Alberta) most ants with any red on them are quite aggressive.  Almost all of our ants are solid black (and can be seen on their mounds early in the morning soaking up the sun and heat).

[BrittonLS]

Greg, P. bicolor, but otherwise spot on lol.

Lobsters aren't red until you cook them!

Hmm the answer probably depend partially on how they color themselves, whether it's a pigment or the way their skeleton refracs light or something else.

The weirdest part is how often it is red with a black gaster, although there are some with red heads and black everything else.

There really isn't a blue pigment created by animals. Things that are green or blue like birds, lizards, butterflies actually have a microstructure to their respective parts that reflects blue light instead of absorbing it.

Crystal, yeah, it's common enough that you'd think there must be a reason for so many to wind up that way. Formacinae have that coloration too though and they aren't nearly as aggressive, unless they're mimicking other red and black ants.

[William. T]

Red in nature stands for poison or any other chemical danger, and it isn't exactly camo. Think Lionfish, poison dart frog, all those fuzzy bright red caterpillars you see. I suppose the reason fire ants (Solenopis) are red is to advertise their formic acid. Also, who wants to be stung by a Pogonomyrmex? Camponotus and Formica have acid too, and so do Pheidole and Crematogaster. Trap Jaw ants also have some sort of juice, too. Maybe it's sorta of a warning to predators?

Edited by William. T, August 9 2015 - 10:15 AM.

[AntsTexas]

glow in the dark ants, that would be pretty cool to see

Edited by AntsTexas, August 9 2015 - 4:06 PM.

[Jonathan21700]

We need more blue and green ants.

Check out these beautiful Australian Calomyrmex ants.

First photo by Farhan Bokhari https://www.flickr.c...otos/myrmician/ Second photo by H Gibb http://www.hermonsla...3/hsf_11_3.html

Edited by Jonathan21700, August 9 2015 - 2:11 PM.

[William. T]

To own one of those colones.....

 

 

We need more blue and green ants.

Check out these beautiful Australian Calomyrmex ants.

First photo by Farhan Bokhari https://www.flickr.c...otos/myrmician/ Second photo by H Gibb http://www.hermonsla...3/hsf_11_3.html

 

[LC3]

Why does everything cool have to be in Australia.

[BrittonLS]

It's because they're all criminals, they stole all the good stuff probably.

[Zeiss]

How is this Cataglyphis bombycina?

[Jonathan21700]

This is a Polyrhachis sp. Amazing ants!

[Trailandstreet]

I guess, the more of pigment the cuticula has, the darker it is. If there'ss less pigment, the ant looks yellow.

The other ants that look silver, blue or green is a matter of reflection like the colors of a butterflies wing.

[Jonathan21700]

Here's another really interesting ant. Echinopla melanarctos.

(photo by Andy Pang)

Edited by Jonathan21700, August 19 2015 - 11:14 AM.