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Queen! Look what I found IN my house today?

Started By JediPeaceFrog , Jun 14 2016 12:49 PM

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17 replies to this topic

#1 Offline JediPeaceFrog - Posted June 14 2016 - 12:49 PM

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Finally had some luck in finding a queen! Having arthritis makes it hard to do serious queen hunting. So I had all but given up on getting back into the hobby. Then, this morning, I find this gorgeous lady walking on the windowsill inside my house! I know these pics are horrible...all I have is an old iPad 2. 95% sure she's Camponotus Modoc. Lucky for me my cats didn't find her first. Hard to believe it's been 20 years since I had a colony. Hopefully I'll post better pics soon. image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg

#2 Offline Loops117 - Posted June 14 2016 - 12:55 PM

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Camponotus Pennsylvanicus IMO. The color and shape of the thorax is what I'm basing it off.


#3 Offline JediPeaceFrog - Posted June 14 2016 - 1:46 PM

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Well, I'm not sure of that, loops. I'm fairly positive that Pennsylvanicus does not exist in Montana. Pretty much Herculeanus & Modoc, with Vicinus & Laevigatus to a lesser scale. I'm basing that mostly on Wheeler & Wheeler http://www.antdata.o...atelists/MT.htm, so I'm not saying for sure that you are wrong. I just have not heard of Pennsylvanicus in Montana.

#4 Offline JediPeaceFrog - Posted June 14 2016 - 2:11 PM

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image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg
Slightly better pics.

#5 Offline Works4TheGood - Posted June 14 2016 - 4:34 PM

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You're so lucky! I'm jealous! I found one a few weeks ago and I actually had it in my hand for a while, but I couldn't capture it because my testube was inside. I asked my 5 yr old to watch the queen in the mulch while I got a container indoors. When I returned, she pointed to her left and excitedly reported that "it flew that way"!
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~Dan

#6 Offline Okeedoke22 - Posted June 14 2016 - 5:14 PM

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You're so lucky! I'm jealous! I found one a few weeks ago and I actually had it in my hand for a while, but I couldn't capture it because my testube was inside. I asked my 5 yr old to watch the queen in the mulch while I got a container indoors. When I returned, she pointed to her left and excitedly reported that "it flew that way"!


Bummer. My wife called me and told me a queen landed on her. What should she do? I told her catch it of course. She had it her hand but it got away. I put little containers in her bag but forgot to tell her they were there. Missed opportunity.

Jedipeacefrog glad you caught a Queen. Good Luck!
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Prenolepis Imparis

Tetramorium Sp. E

Crematogaster
Brachymyrmex Sp.

Lasius Claviger 

 

#7 Offline Batspiderfish - Posted June 14 2016 - 6:07 PM

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Camponotus modoc is a pretty safe guess, as coloration is not always a safe indicator. Camponotus laevigatus is a close contender. You can always key a deceased worker someday to get a confirmation.


Edited by Batspiderfish, June 14 2016 - 6:11 PM.

If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.

 

Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.

 

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Black lives still matter.

#8 Offline Batspiderfish - Posted June 14 2016 - 6:14 PM

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Actually, does the queen look really hairy? Particularly white hairs on the top of the head and thorax? Definitely not Camponotus modoc if so.


Edited by Batspiderfish, June 14 2016 - 6:16 PM.

If you've enjoyed using my expertise and identifications, please do not create undue ecological risk by releasing your ants. The environment which we keep our pet insects is alien and oftentimes unsanitary, so ensure that wild populations stay safe by giving your ants the best care you can manage for the rest of their lives, as we must do with any other pet.

 

Exotic ants are for those who think that vibrant diversity is something you need to pay money to see. It is illegal to transport live ants across state lines.

 

----

Black lives still matter.

#9 Offline Miles - Posted June 14 2016 - 6:22 PM

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This quite likely Camponotus modoc. I've spent years with both species, and the dull silvery-black of C. modoc is unmistakable in comparison to the dark and shiny C. laevigatus. 


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#10 Offline drtrmiller - Posted June 14 2016 - 6:24 PM

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You mean matte vs glossy.


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#11 Offline Miles - Posted June 14 2016 - 6:31 PM

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You mean matte vs glossy.

 

Sorry - yes.


PhD Student & NSF Graduate Research Fellow | University of Florida Dept. of Entomology & Nematology - Lucky Ant Lab 

 

Founder & Director of The Ant Network. Ant keeper since 2009. Insect ecologist and science communicator. He/Him.

#12 Offline JediPeaceFrog - Posted June 14 2016 - 7:39 PM

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Thanks guys. Yeah, my first impression was its Modoc. I kept a few Modoc colonies years ago, so I'm confident that's what it is. Not hairy, for sure.
Question: back then, I just kept my colonies in ghetto Tupperware stuff. How does Camponotus do versus Ytong?

#13 Offline JediPeaceFrog - Posted June 14 2016 - 7:40 PM

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I feel like a kid in a candy store ha.

#14 Offline Loops117 - Posted June 15 2016 - 4:03 AM

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Well my guess was completely off. Good find though!


#15 Offline dspdrew - Posted June 15 2016 - 6:34 AM

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You mean matte vs glossy.

 
Sorry - yes.

 


What I've noticed, is their gasters are always striped, alternating glossy and matte, like the gasters of Formica usually are.


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#16 Offline Loops117 - Posted June 15 2016 - 6:54 AM

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You mean matte vs glossy.

 
Sorry - yes.

 


What I've noticed, is their gasters are always striped, alternating glossy and matte, like the gasters of Formica usually are..

 

Is this the same for the workers? I've noticed my workers have an almost translucent ring around their gasters.


#17 Offline EstuaryAnts - Posted June 15 2016 - 9:17 AM

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Nice!


#18 Offline dspdrew - Posted June 15 2016 - 5:20 PM

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You mean matte vs glossy.

 
Sorry - yes.

 


What I've noticed, is their gasters are always striped, alternating glossy and matte, like the gasters of Formica usually are..

 

Is this the same for the workers? I've noticed my workers have an almost translucent ring around their gasters.

 

 

Well you might be seeing something that you see in almost all ants when their gasters expand. The terga separate and the membrane in between them is translucent. What I was describing is the actual gaster terga.


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