15 replies to this topic

[Billy]

I collected a bunch of these Myrmica sp. queens while camping, and unfortunately one of them died. Every cloud has a silver lining, though, and I took a nice deep focus stack of her for identification. If more angles are required, let me know and I'll post them.

 

1. Location of collection: Parkhurst Forest, Isle of Wight, England, UK

2. Date of collection: 21/08/2015

3. Habitat of collection: Regularly mown grass field, entirely surrounded by forest. The forest is primarily pine, but has some variety.

4. Length (from head to gaster): 6 mm

5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: Relatively uniform red colour, except for a darker patch on the top of the head. 

 

Myrmica sp. queen for ID by Billy Bradley, on Flickr

[dspdrew]

Very nice picture. I don't know anything about Myrmica though.

[Billy]

Thanks Drew. It's actually 36 photos, believe it or not, each with a different slice in focus.

[dspdrew]

Yeah, I do focus stacking too. It's great.

[Billy]

Cool, any examples of your work?

[William. T]

Nice pictures, Billy! 

Edited by William. T, August 30 2015 - 2:22 PM.

[Billy]

Right, I did some research, and took some more photos. The following photo clearly shows that the bend in the scape of the antenna is rounded and without ridges or teeth. 

 

Myrmica sp. queen for ID (pic  2) by Billy Bradley, on Flickr

 

This seems to narrow it down to M. rubra and M. ruginodis. The first photo shows that the queen has long epinotal spines, so I have concluded that she is Myrmica ruginodis. I would love to hear others' opinions, though.

 

EDIT: Thanks, William.

Edited by Billy, August 30 2015 - 2:54 PM.

[William. T]

What camera do you have? Imagine it won't run cheap.

[Billy]

No, not cheap, but also not terribly expensive. I use a Nikon D3200, which is a digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR). Also used in these photos are an EL-Nikkor 50 mm f/2.8 enlarger lens, reversed onto extension tubes, and a Yongnuo YN565EX speedlight, with a "home made diffuser" (aka sheet of paper white tacked to the flash). The lens I use for less extreme macro shots is a Tamron 90mm f/2.8. For my non-macro wildlife photography I usually use a Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens. The camera body goes for about £210, but it's worth getting it in a kit with a lens or two. The enlarger lens is actually quite cheap. It's only available second hand, because so few people develop film nowadays, and goes for about £30-£40. 

[LC3]

Really nice pictures, makes IDing a lot easier especially for a Myrmica sp. My thoughts are M.scabrinodis or another ant in the scabrinodis group.

[Billy]

Thanks for your input, LC3. I ruled out M. scabrinodis because they have a sharp bend in the antennal scape, as shown here: http://www.antwiki.o...44_dorsal_1.jpg

 

This is in contrast with the curved bend shown in my second picture. What makes you think she's M. scabrinodis rather than M. ruginodis?

 

EDIT: If I wasn't clear, I mean the bend right near where the scape connects with the head.

Edited by Billy, August 30 2015 - 4:10 PM.

[LC3]

Never said I didn't think she was M.ruginodis its just my first thought was M.scabrinodis. I'm not amazing at IDing species just to let you know. 

Edited by LC3, August 30 2015 - 4:25 PM.

[Billy]

Ah okay, sorry, I misunderstood.

[dspdrew]

Cool, any examples of your work?

 

Here's a few of my better ones. I just linked them since they're so irrelevant to your ID thread.

http://www.formicult...2_187_94288.jpg

http://www.formicult..._2_213_9964.jpg

http://www.formicult..._2_214_2866.jpg

[Jonathan21700]

Hey Drew, what is the species in the second photo?

[dspdrew]

Porognomyrmex californicus (concolorous variation).