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Is this a Queen?


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12 replies to this topic

#1 Offline 1tsm3jack - Posted June 3 2024 - 7:45 PM

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I am worried that I may have accidentally abducted a C. nearcticus worker thinking it was a queen, I would appreciate some help figuring this out.

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#2 Online bmb1bee - Posted June 3 2024 - 7:57 PM

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I am worried that I may have accidentally abducted a C. nearcticus worker thinking it was a queen, I would appreciate some help figuring this out.

Definitely a Camponotus queen, not a worker due to the size and shape of the thorax. Can't confirm what species it is though.


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#3 Offline AsdinAnts - Posted June 3 2024 - 8:21 PM

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She looks pretty slim, you should try feeding her.
When/where did you find her?

Currently keeping
-T. immigrans

-B. patagonicus

-N. cockerelli

I will want to also keep some other lasius types in the future.
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#4 Offline 1tsm3jack - Posted June 4 2024 - 5:30 AM

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She looks pretty slim, you should try feeding her.
When/where did you find her?

Found her in her founding chamber that was in a rotting log, checked for any eggs and there were none, I've tried feeding her honey but she doesn't accept it. 


Edited by 1tsm3jack, June 4 2024 - 5:31 AM.


#5 Offline AsdinAnts - Posted June 4 2024 - 8:55 AM

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plain honey?
try to mix it with some water, honey tends to be a bit hard for ants to digest

Currently keeping
-T. immigrans

-B. patagonicus

-N. cockerelli

I will want to also keep some other lasius types in the future.
You should also subscribe to my youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/@AsdAnts


#6 Offline 1tsm3jack - Posted June 4 2024 - 9:52 AM

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plain honey?
try to mix it with some water, honey tends to be a bit hard for ants to digest

Ok thanks for the tip. Do you know what species she is by any chance?



#7 Offline kiedeerk - Posted June 4 2024 - 10:23 AM

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C nearcticus or caryae queen
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#8 Offline Stubyvast - Posted June 4 2024 - 3:57 PM

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Definitely Camponotus, anyways. Definitely needs something to eat, haha


Currently raising: 

Myrmica rubra (1 queen +  ~5 workers)

Lasius niger (single queen + ~90+ workers)

Lasius neoniger (3 single queen + brood)

Formica spp. (Queen [likely parasitic, needs brood])

Formica pacifica (Queen)

Also keeping a friend's tetramorium immigrans for the foreseeable future. Thanks CoffeBlock!


#9 Offline T.C. - Posted June 5 2024 - 1:59 AM

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Like others said, very thin. Anytime my queens looked like that they didn't do well. Alot were infertile. Possible nest rejects I suppose.
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#10 Offline kiedeerk - Posted June 5 2024 - 3:53 PM

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As oppose to what everyone else has said. Myrmentoma queens look just like that. They are thin and long compared to the usual large Camponotus species queens like pennsylvanicus, chromaoides, or castaneus.

Their preferred founding chamber are in narrow space in hard wood so they can’t have a bulky body or gaster or else they won’t be able to fit
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#11 Offline kiedeerk - Posted June 5 2024 - 4:05 PM

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Here is a few of my myrmentoma queens: first two are nearcticus and the last small one is caryae

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#12 Offline 1tsm3jack - Posted June 5 2024 - 4:26 PM

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Ok so she might be a caryae queen then? 



#13 Offline kiedeerk - Posted June 5 2024 - 5:42 PM

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Ok so she might be a caryae queen then?


You have to take a close up picture of her malar area to distinguish her from nearcticus




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