53 replies to this topic

[Crystals]

Looks like a parasitic Formica queen to me.  Can you go outside and get a side view in the natural light? (If you still have her)

[Gregory2455]

pretty hairy with substantially long large gasters.

Um, that was an awful picture. I took that picture while she was pointing her gaster into the cotton, and although it doest look like it in the picture, cause of the bad lighting she is very hairy.

Edited by Gregory2455, July 24 2014 - 3:37 PM.

[Gregory2455]

Looks like a parasitic Formica queen to me.  Can you go outside and get a side view in the natural light? (If you still have her)

Sorry don't have her anymore. Let them go this morning before I went off to the airport and back to California.

[Gregory2455]

Discontinuing this thread.

 

I am back in California now.

 

I released all the ants I caught.

 

I only kept a few dead specimens.

[Gregory2455]

Dead Specimens Include:

 

Camponotus sp. Queen

 

Formica sp. #1   Queen

 

Formica sp. #1   Drone

 

Formica sp. #2    Queen

 

Formica sp. #3   Queen

 

Tetramorium Sp.E   Drone

[Gregory2455]

Almost all my ants survived while I was gone, I lost another S.molesta, and the last two of my Nylanderia sp...

Basically all my queens have eggs now, notably the P.rugosus all have around 5-10 eggs each, and my one S.xyloni has about 25 eggs.

My semi-clausteral queens, my P.californicus have all visably hoarded (and cracked open  ) Guizotia abyssinica seeds, however I wrapped their

test tubes in black paper, because of the fact they are in a brightly lit foraging container, so I cannot monitor the brood developments. I am very excited that 

they like the Guizotia abyssinica seeds because you can buy them in most stores as bird seed, (Still be careful to make sure the brand of seeds are definetly safe for the ant.) and they are easy for them to break open. (In most stores, they go by the name Black Nyjer Seed.)

Edited by Gregory2455, July 24 2014 - 9:22 PM.

[dspdrew]

I am very excited that they like the Guizotia abyssinica seeds because you can buy them in most stores as bird seed, (Still be careful to make sure the brand of seeds are definetly safe for the ant.) and they are easy for them to break open. (In most stores, they go by the name Black Nyjer Seed.)

I want to try some of this. Does this look like it would be alright, it's the smallest bag I can find.

 

http://www.amazon.co.../dp/B004477AJE/

[Crystals]

That might work, or you could also find some in Walmart or any other store that carries seeds for wild birds.  It is a fairly popular seed.

I even have a bag for the wild finches outside.

[Gregory2455]

I want to try some of this. Does this look like it would be alright, it's the smallest bag I can find.

If it is sold as bird seed, I am pretty sure it is safe, I just bought a big 15$ bag.

[Gregory2455]

Some videos that I finally bothered to upload... Both are pretty blurry, I have an AWFUL camera.

 

The first video is a large waterfall, and the river in the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge.

 

This second video was about the Formica sp. I saw up there, and there were a lot. The first clip is them fighting some black Lasius or something of the sort, you can notice a few carrying their injured comrades back to their nest, and the same waterfall as in video one rumbling in the background. The second clip is of another colony's huge mound of pine leaves and mud.

[dspdrew]

Awesome waterfall. That place looks nice; I love habitats like that.

[Gregory2455]

It was very tall, that clip I put into the video was at a bad angle, It didn't show the whole thing, there was another waterfall behind that cliff side that ran into that pool which then went all the way down. The second and third clip on the bridge and on the river side were downstream from that.

[JoshuaGF]

Very tempting especially when it is slim pickings at home. California is experiencing drought so I am sure that doesn't make finding queens any better. Hard to pass on a good opportunity but I don't think getting caught would be worth it. I don't know what the penalties are but I am sure they are hefty.

[Myrmicinae]

I think it depends on which states you will be moving the ants through. There are many state laws against importation of certain insects (usually including ants), but the federal regulations seem to only apply to "pest" species.