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[RushmoreAnts]

Claustral Formica

Formica fusca group

Formica pallidefulva group

 

Abstract

 

Two of the most successful Formica species groups in North America are the fusca group and the pallidefulva group. They can be found in most any environment, from urban concrete jungles, suburban backyards, farmland, and especially nature parks. Though the fusca group is more common, the pallidefulva group still is dominant in many pockets of fields throughout the Midwest. These ants are large, fast-growing, fast-moving, and aggressive. They utilize a potent formic acid spray which they use both for nest defense, disinfecting their nest, and immobilizing prey. They often build conspicuous, mound-shaped nests which help trap solar energy and heat, in which they often store their pupae during hot summer days to hasten their development. As Ants_Dakota eloquently points out in his journal, Formica is a diverse, fascinating genus which has long been overlooked in the community. This journal aims to bring Formica into the spotlight and document the colony rearing process of these outstanding ants.

 

Resources

 

     Journals:

     

     Ants_Dakota's Formica sp. Journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

     ANTdrew's Formica subsericea Journal - FormicaFarm Setup - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

     AnthonyP163's Formica sp. Journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

     Dean's Formica subsericea journal - Ant Keeping Journals - Ants & Myrmecology Forum (formiculture.com)

 

     Articles:

 

     Formica species groups - AntWiki

 

     Key to North American Genera of Formicinae - AntWiki

 

     Formica subsericea - AntWiki

 

     Formica argentea - AntWiki

 

     Formica pallidefulva - AntWiki

 

     Formica incerta - AntWiki

 

     Wood ants produce a potent antimicrobial agent by applying formic acid on tree‐collected resin - Brütsch - 2017 - Ecology and Evolution - Wiley Online Library

     

 

 

Update 1

August 8, 2024

 

Introduction

 

Over the weekend of the fourth of July I vacationed in Nebraska City, NE which has decent forest cover due to its proximity to the Missouri River. The first day on the 4th I caught a Formica pallidefulva group queen which I will dub as cf. incerta, bright orange. On the 6th I caught another queen, similar but darker in coloration, and I will call it cf. pallidefulva.. The week after I came back I found a smaller Formica fusca group queen in a parking lot here in Sioux Falls. Then again last Sunday another larger fusca group queen landed on my car's windshield.

 

Formica cf. pallidefulva

Of the Nebraska City queens this one is doing the best. She just got nanitics, with three callows and three more pupae on the way. After she got workers she immediately laid 10-12 eggs. The queen is noticeably smaller and of darker complexion than the other pallidefulva group queen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formica cf. incerta

I absolutely love the colors of this queen. While the other pallidefulva group queen is beautiful in her own way, I find this one's orange and red color scheme with stripes absolutely stunning. She definitely isn't doing as well worker-wise, but at least she's fertile. She just got her first worker, with two more on the way. She has one larva and one egg. Hopefully she lays more soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Formica cf. podzolica

I accidentally dented this queen's abdomen during collection, though it doesn't seem to be affecting her. She laid eggs and had two large larvae. However, when I checked on her one week she ate them. She now has 3-4 eggs again. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formica cf. argentea

This queen landed on my windshield, as previously mentioned. She's a larger fusca group, probably argentea or subsericea. I'm leaning towards argentea due to her rubrous (red) legs. She laid 7 eggs within this first week and a half of having her. Her abdomen is quite plump and healthy-looking, so I have high hopes for her as well as the cf. pallidefulva. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, December 7 2024 - 8:54 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 2

August 20, 2024

 

Formica cf. pallidefulva

This colony is doing phenomenal! All six nanitics have eclosed, and the queen kept herself busy these past couple weeks, producing roughly 20 brood which developed rapidly, having about 6-7 pupae as of today. There's also ~4 larvae and ~10 eggs. I can't tell exactly since they move the brood around so fast. I wouldn't be surprised if they got 30 workers before hibernation, which the best performance I've ever gotten out of a Formica colony. After being fed this queen actually looks a lot more similar to the cf incerta queen, just slightly darker.

 

This phrase, from AntWiki, is what I based the pallidefulva group colonies' identifications off of: "The geographic range of F. pallidefulva completely overlaps that of F. incerta, and most places where they are found together in the field, F. incerta appears lighter in color and less shiny than F. pallidefulva, due to some faint tessellation on the mesosoma and somewhat longer, denser pubescence on the gastral dorsum of F. incerta." So basically, where the two coexist, pallidefulva is usually the darker species, as this colony is. incerta has more hair on the gaster, which the lighter queen certainly has. She's hairier all over. I haven't ruled out biophilica for the second queen, though I'll call her cf. incerta for now. I believe biophilica have lighter-colored workers, however, and this colony still has darker workers.

 

 

Apologies for the poor quality, I take my pictures outside in natural light, and today it was cloudy and raining.

 

 

 

 

 

Ants_Dakota and I made an outworld out of a Hobby Lobby display case and cool rock I bought in the Black Hills. It's a South Dakotan tradition to buy rocks at the rock shops when pilgrimaging to the Black Hills.

 

Accidentally splattered some wet grout on the plant, but I don't really care. I'm not a skilled craftsman or physically coordinated.

 

Formica cf. incerta

All three nanitics have eclosed, with the latter two coming just a couple days ago. The queen now has around 10 eggs and a couple larvae. I fed both colonies some Tetramorium immigrans brood since one colony killed all of its founding queens during pleometrosis. This colony ate most of it, yet they were still carrying around a Tetra pupa which they will probably eat later. Both colonies seemed to care for the Tetra brood before they ate it, oddly enough. They were likely trying to preserve it to keep it fresh.

 

 

 

 

 

They drained their feeder, I'll have to refill it.

 

I recycled now queenless Tetra Colony E's nest entrance and Test Tube cover. That's why it says E. I wrote Formica cf. incerta on a piece of tape and stuck it on the cover, Tetramorium immigrans Colony E is still visible underneath. I'm not about wasting resources.

 

Formica cf. podzolica

This queen ate her eggs again, and has not laid since. She is most likely genetically weak, affected by her injuries, or both. I'll still keep her around, however I don't have high hopes for her.

 

Formica cf. argentea

This colony so far is keeping pace with the cf. pallidefulva. She has 2 pupae, 1 large larva, 5 small larvae (but knowing Formica larvae they won't be small for long, or larvae for that matter), and 1 egg, which would bring her nanitic count to 9, compared to the pallidefulva's 6. It will be one of my crowing colonies along with the pallidefulva.

 

 

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, October 6 2024 - 9:36 PM.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 3

September 27, 2024

 

Formica cf. pallidefulva

This colony is by far the most successful Formica colony I've ever owned. None of my previous queens have came close to 20 workers in their first season like these ladies did. They are sitting at 16 workers and have 4 pupae remaining. Unfortunately, the queen appears to be done laying for the season, as Formica usually do not overwinter any brood. I'll take the 20 workers, though. They've more than proven themselves this season. I also wanted to note that these workers are now developing that classic orange hue I love about this species. It's been amazing to keep them so far, and while I doubt I'll update again before hibernation I look forward to their progress next year.

 

 

Formica cf. incerta

While not as successful as the cf. pallidefulva, this colony is still accomplishing things, with a respectable 8 workers. All their brood has developed, and the queen has also stopped laying for the season.

 

 

Formica cf. podzolica

 

This queen is still alive but has not produced any more brood. She is a dud.

 

Formica cf. argentea

This colony ended up getting 6 nanitics, akin to the pallidefulva. They had a shorter growing season, however, being caught later. She produced another generation of eggs yet lost a couple of them when I attempted to film them a couple weeks ago. Most of the workers and the queen scurried into the outworld and scattered some of the brood. They ended up with 4 and lost about 3, still not bad at all. They'll end up with 10 workers by hibernation, and the queen has also ceased egg production for the season.

 

Edited by RushmoreAnts, October 6 2024 - 9:40 PM.

[Ants_Dakota]

Nice! I look forward to seeing how these queens progress next year. I am also excited to see what formicaria you select for them.

[RushmoreAnts]

Update 4

December 7, 2024

Well, it's that time of year again. In late October I put all of my Claustral and Slave Raiding Formica into hibernation in my mini fridge. It was a successful first growing season, and I anticipate their impending population explosions next season. South Dakota winters go from mid-October to mid-March (or mid-December to mid-May, depending on the year). They will emerge from their slumber on March 15, 2025. I brought them out today to take videos, but from now on, sweet dreams... 

 

Formica cf. pallidefulva

20 workers in their first season. Not bad at all. 

 

 

 

Formica cf. incerta

One of the most beautiful queens I've ever kept, this colony ended up with 8 workers. Not bad, not bad. There is still great potential here.

 

 

Formica cf. podzolica

It died. 

 

Formica cf. argentea

11 workers... not too shabby. I know these are 'plain old Formica', but I still think they're stunning ants. Their silver exoskeletons gleam almost metallically, like a suit of armor. Elegant specimens. Adieu, my ladies.