23 replies to this topic

[JoJoAnt]

Thank you everyone for your help, I a better picture here.  This is what I see:

 

1) Her scapes are round not flat

2) she is very shiny

3) she has golden hairs on the end of her butt, but not striped around her abdomen

4) 

 

All that seems to be odd.

 

I think she is sansabeanus, (we do live only a few hours from San Saba). 

 

And.... she has started laying eggs!

 

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[gcsnelling]

Her butt?? Anyway the group is such a screwed up in need of revision mess, it is almost better to leave at genus level.

[ArmansAnts]

Definitely sansabeanus, Texas' only similar species is americanus which has a different build and pretty different color patterning too.

[Mettcollsuss]

Her butt?? Anyway the group is such a screwed up in need of revision mess, it is almost better to leave at genus level.

The group is very messy, but there are still a few clear lines within that mess, and I think this is one of them. The only sansabeanus-group species in Texas are C. sansabeanus and C. vicinus, the latter of which seems to be pretty rare in the state and only exists in sparse populations in western TX, and should have a less wide head. This queen looks like a completely typical C. sansabeanus queen, and given its proximity to the type location, it's safe to say that this is "true" sansabeanus, not one of the other undescribed species currently lumped under sansabeanus.