18 replies to this topic

[enceladussmartants]

My queen, Clumsy Lily, was caught on a tile near my swimming academy. She is aptly named as she is so clumsy she could barely climb onto my hand and couldn't even walk properly on glass, plastic or paper. In fact, she only seemed to be able to walk properly on soil. Thinking she was a subterranean ant, I gave her some soil. She burrowed under it. One month later, I checked on her and was shocked to discover that she hadn't layed any eggs. She is currently in a plastic easter egg with a thin layer of soil. After a thorough search, the queen she looks like the most is the queen of Bondroitia lujae. But B.lujae lives in Africa! Could she be the first described queen of anillomyrma(Close relative of bondroitia, lives in southeast asia, also not in my area.)Could it be A.decamera which lives in NORTHERN india, or a new species?!?!?!?!!?

Edit: Found in South Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

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Edited by enceladussmartants, July 5 2024 - 5:47 AM.

[enceladussmartants]

She is 9-10 mm

[NotAxo]

Looks like C. Vitiosus

I'm in Kerala!

I'm not 100% sure about my assumption though

[enceladussmartants]

What does C stand for?

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

For Camponotus

 

Looks like C. Vitiosus

I'm in Kerala!

I'm not 100% sure about my assumption though

You would not capitalize vitiosus

[Mettcollsuss]

I don't think this can be safely taken beyond Myrmicinae without workers and likely higher-quality macro images.

[enceladussmartants]

what does C stand for?

[enceladussmartants]

Looks like C. Vitiosus

I'm in Kerala!

I'm not 100% sure about my assumption though

If C means Camponotus, I don't think she's Formicine, NotAxo

what does C stand for?

I accidentally reposted this

[The_Gaming-gate]

Solenopsis geminata or savissaema group is my best guess, but they is likely an error.

[Stubyvast]

Is she infertile then? Or simply without suitable conditions? It's possible she is semi-claustral and thus requires some protein to begin egg-laying. Strange! You should try a test tube set-up with some grit at the bottom for her to walk on. 

[enceladussmartants]

Solenopsis geminata or savissaema group is my best guess, but they is likely an error.

So do you think it is Solenopsis nitens(only native indian species of solenopsis)?

 

Is she infertile then? Or simply without suitable conditions? It's possible she is semi-claustral and thus requires some protein to begin egg-laying. Strange! You should try a test tube set-up with some grit at the bottom for her to walk on. 

No,I don't think she's semi claustral as if she was she wouldn't have survived a month underground, and if she was infertile I don't think she would have created a founding chamber. Maybe bad conditions, as you said.

[ReignofRage]

I think giving a location would help. At the moment, the most anyone can deduce for a location is pretty much just India (which isn't even directly stated). Beyond that, all we know is that it isn't "Northern" or the coast near Sri Lanka. It's possible that she hasn't laid eggs because she needs to be kept warmer and in much better conditions. Try to get some better pictures by using much brighter lighting.

[NotAxo]

As far as I know from his introduction, he's in bengaluru, india

[enceladussmartants]

Oops, forgot to give my location at the beginning of this post  . I will do it next time.

 

As far as I know from his introduction, he's in bengaluru, india

Yes, I do live in Bengaluru, and I found her not very far from my home.

[The_Gaming-gate]

Solenopsis geminata or savissaema group is my best guess, but they is likely an error.

So do you think it is Solenopsis nitens(only native indian species of solenopsis)?

Is she infertile then? Or simply without suitable conditions? It's possible she is semi-claustral and thus requires some protein to begin egg-laying. Strange! You should try a test tube set-up with some grit at the bottom for her to walk on.

No,I don't think she's semi claustral as if she was she wouldn't have survived a month underground, and if she was infertile I don't think she would have created a founding chamber. Maybe bad conditions, as you said.

Infertile queens will follow their instincts and build claustral chambers. I believe the queen could potentially be the S. geminata dark variant, but I need a clearer picture to confirm.

S. geminata is a stinging species with majors. It is invasive to much of Asia. This is by no means a 100% accurate ID, but it’s the best thing anyone’s thought of so far.

Edited by The_Gaming-gate, July 5 2024 - 3:30 PM.

[enceladussmartants]

Sorry for the late reply!

No, I do not think she is S.geminata, the_gaming_gate. I've kept their queens before, and Clumsy Lily is definitely different. I feel she has a smaller head,differently shaped mandibles and a longer body shape than S.geminata queens, not to mention EXTREMELY clumsy. 

Edited by enceladussmartants, July 9 2024 - 6:27 AM.

[enceladussmartants]

Thank you for your help!

[OwlThatLikesAnts]

Crematogaster Is my wild guess but it fits the quota with the different mandibles and can look a bit like Solenopsis and some queens can be 10mm and the back looks very crematogaster but that is all I know because we need better photos

[RushmoreAnts]

 

 

No,I don't think she's semi claustral as if she was she wouldn't have survived a month underground, and if she was infertile I don't think she would have created a founding chamber. Maybe bad conditions, as you said.

 

Semi-claustral queens still do have fat and food stores available. It is quite possible she could be semi-claustral and survive for a month, with the notable side effect being she would indeed not lay eggs. I would try feeding her. Even if she is fully-claustral it certainly wouldn't hurt.

Edited by AntsDakota, August 3 2024 - 7:19 PM.