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Unusual behaviour?

Started By bugboy , Mar 2 2014 8:33 AM

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#1 Offline bugboy - Posted March 2 2014 - 8:33 AM

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I am certainly not no expert but I found this behaviour very strange.

 

I live just outside of Vancouver BC and I went to a buddies house because he told be of this large ant hill by his house. We generally don't get very cold weather or snow, But on this day it was 0 degrees C and snowing when I went to take a look at the ant hill. To my surprise they ants were out and all huddled together. here is a picture I took even with some snow. He was correct it is a very large hill, there was at least a 6 of there groups plus some smaller ones. is this normal? Can anyone identify them? I am hoping to capture a couple queens this year.

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#2 Offline dspdrew - Posted March 2 2014 - 8:54 AM

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How weird. Is that some species of Formica? Was it sunny out?

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#3 Offline LAnt - Posted March 2 2014 - 12:57 PM

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Formica Rufa : "In the spring when snow and ice is still present on the surface of the mound, the colony will become active and temperatures will rise to around 30 deg C overnight." 

http://www.geog.ubc....shColumbia.html


#4 Offline Crystals - Posted March 3 2014 - 7:19 AM

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Is it possible for you to go back later and grab one of those workers?  I would love some close-ups. 

It may be Formica obscuripes.  But I would need some close-ups before I could say for sure.

The thatched nest seems to point to Formica.

 

As for what they were doing, it looks like they are all huddled around the entrances and there isn't enough room for them all to get inside.  Traffic jam, with no one to say to those inside "keep it moving, there are still people outside".


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#5 Offline bugboy - Posted March 6 2014 - 7:52 PM

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No it wasn't sunny out it was rather cloudy. I will go back and see if I can get a worker for some close up pictures.


#6 Offline bugboy - Posted March 7 2014 - 9:34 PM

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here is a close up but unfortunately I had file size restriction.

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#7 Offline Crystals - Posted March 8 2014 - 9:36 AM

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Definitely Formica.

I am also pretty positive that they are Formica obscuripes.  Very few ants in BC have just a red head with black thorax and gaster, and there is only one known Formica with that coloration.

 

Nice picture.  I tend to use photobucket to avoid the size limits.


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#8 Offline WeatherAnt - Posted March 27 2014 - 7:51 PM

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Definitely Formica.

I am also pretty positive that they are Formica obscuripes.  Very few ants in BC have just a red head with black thorax and gaster, and there is only one known Formica with that coloration.

 

Nice picture.  I tend to use photobucket to avoid the size limits.

 

I would agree with Formica obscuripes. They look like the ones I see here.


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