9 replies to this topic

[Works4TheGood]

Location of collection:  State College, PA.  Suburban driveway.

Date of collection:  08/27/15

Habitat of collection:  My driveway in the suburbs of State College, PA

Length:  See pics for scale

 

... Crematogaster something or other?

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Edited by Works4TheGood, September 1 2015 - 6:06 PM.

[LC3]

I think that ant you have might be Monomorium minimum.

[kellakk]

Definitely Crematogaster, although I'm not sure which species. Monomorium don't have propodeal spines.

 

EDIT: Likely C. lineolata.

[Works4TheGood]

Definitely Crematogaster, although I'm not sure which species. Monomorium don't have propodeal spines.

 

EDIT: Likely C. lineolata.

Crematogaster is what I suspected too. 

 

What do the spines do?  Propoedeal spines just don't seem very useful.  If I were an ant, I'd choose to have spines on my gaster and head.

[James C. Trager]

A lot of ants have those spines, and many don't, and with a few exceptions, we have no real idea what the adaptive value is, either way. 
 

Anyway, considering the habitat (essentially urban, not a wild, dryish habitat), more likely your ant is Crematogaster cerasi, the most common one in the genus, in the human habitat, in NE USA.

[Works4TheGood]

A lot of ants have those spines, and many don't, and with a few exceptions, we have no real idea what the adaptive value is, either way. 
 

Anyway, considering the habitat (essentially urban, not a wild, dryish habitat), more likely your ant is Crematogaster cerasi, the most common one in the genus, in the human habitat, in NE USA.

 

James, thanks so much for taking the time to ID my queens!  If you're ever visiting State College, PA, please remind me that I owe you lunch!  Hopefully someday I'll be able to do this on my own.  I am getting better at it.  I have a book to help, and I am learning from experience.

 

Still, I have lots of questions about ant-design and I am itching for references that address those questions.  For example, why do some ant species have a Postpediole and some don't?  Why don't ants posessing stingers outcompete species that lack them?  Why do ant species vary in the number of segments in their funiculus?  Do the differences that we can see between species reflect in their behavior, or are they simply different designs that solve the exact same problems with equal survival standing?  Do you have any suggested readings?

[William. T]

 

A lot of ants have those spines, and many don't, and with a few exceptions, we have no real idea what the adaptive value is, either way. 
 

Anyway, considering the habitat (essentially urban, not a wild, dryish habitat), more likely your ant is Crematogaster cerasi, the most common one in the genus, in the human habitat, in NE USA.

 

James, thanks so much for taking the time to ID my queens!  If you're ever visiting State College, PA, please remind me that I owe you lunch!  Hopefully someday I'll be able to do this on my own.  I am getting better at it.  I have a book to help, and I am learning from experience.

 

Still, I have lots of questions about ant-design and I am itching for references that address those questions.  For example, why do some ant species have a Postpediole and some don't?  Why don't ants posessing stingers outcompete species that lack them?  Why do ant species vary in the number of segments in their funiculus?  Do the differences that we can see between species reflect in their behavior, or are they simply different designs that solve the exact same problems with equal survival standing?  Do you have any suggested readings?

 

Stingers take spines and resources to build, no? Having jaws may be better, since stingers can't carry items or chop up food. I'm not an expert in ant-kwan-do, but it seems you have to grab an enemy with your jaws and hold it down before you can sting them. At that rate, just crush the head of the enemy ant.

[Works4TheGood]

Why not

 

 

 

A lot of ants have those spines, and many don't, and with a few exceptions, we have no real idea what the adaptive value is, either way. 
 

Anyway, considering the habitat (essentially urban, not a wild, dryish habitat), more likely your ant is Crematogaster cerasi, the most common one in the genus, in the human habitat, in NE USA.

 

James, thanks so much for taking the time to ID my queens!  If you're ever visiting State College, PA, please remind me that I owe you lunch!  Hopefully someday I'll be able to do this on my own.  I am getting better at it.  I have a book to help, and I am learning from experience.

 

Still, I have lots of questions about ant-design and I am itching for references that address those questions.  For example, why do some ant species have a Postpediole and some don't?  Why don't ants posessing stingers outcompete species that lack them?  Why do ant species vary in the number of segments in their funiculus?  Do the differences that we can see between species reflect in their behavior, or are they simply different designs that solve the exact same problems with equal survival standing?  Do you have any suggested readings?

 

Stingers take spines and resources to build, no? Having jaws may be better, since stingers can't carry items or chop up food. I'm not an expert in ant-kwan-do, but it seems you have to grab an enemy with your jaws and hold it down before you can sting them. At that rate, just crush the head of the enemy ant.

 

So I guess my question would then become this:  Why don't ants with big heads and stingers eradicate all other ant species?  These attributes must have disadvantages to justify the deversity among species, but I don't really see them.  Perhaps their venomous concoction requires usual resources to make, and so other species acquire and spend their resources elsewhere that provides a different set of advantages.

[William. T]

Yeah, the ends must justify the means. Bullet ants and trap jaw ants aren't exactly invasive, despite having extremely nasty poison or wicked jaws. On the other hand, you have the common, small, weak, Argentine ant worker with no strong bite, no sting, no venom. Yet an attack party of Argentines may consist of thousand workers, while the trap jaw can only send five. Who wins?

[dspdrew]

Don't forget, Formicidae spray formic acid, and Dolichodarinae spray their smelly chemicals.