19 replies to this topic

[Aaron567]

This past July, I found a weird queen that I, at the time, thought was Dorymyrmex (I was inexperienced then and wasn't informed about the petiole nodes). But I soon noticed her differences in Dorymyrmex, so I uploaded an ID request on the AntsCanada forum a week after I caught her. Batspiderfish ID'd it as Pheidole morrisii. But Mdrogun and I have since looked at these pictures and concluded that she does not look like morrisii, and may not even be Pheidole at all. So, I've decided to post another ID request on here to see if anyone has any other opinions. I'm very curious to know what she was!

 

She ended up only living about a week. She had laid a stack of eggs, but still died for an unknown reason.

Here's the AntsCanada post if anyone is interested: http://forum.antscan...=morrisi#p14790

 

Her size was 7-8mm. These are the only pictures I have of her. Sorry for the not so great quality. 

Edited by Aaron567, January 2 2017 - 3:03 PM.

[T.C.]

Hello, friend. I am no professional but I am thinking this queen is Solenopsis carolinensis.

[Aaron567]

Hello, friend. I am no professional but I am thinking this queen is Solenopsis carolinensis.

 

This queen is too large to be carolinensis.

[T.C.]

 

Hello, friend. I am no professional but I am thinking this queen is Solenopsis carolinensis.

 

This queen is too large to be carolinensis.

 

That could very well be, just a guess.

[AnthonyP163]

It's obviously Morisii, it's got the color, flight time, petiole nodes/Myrmicinae, and the distinct dot under her Gaster.

[Mdrogun]

It's obviously Morisii, it's got the color, flight time, petiole nodes/Myrmicinae, and the distinct dot under her Gaster.

It does not have the color. Most morrisi are reddish/orangish. Where are you getting this idea of "color" and the "distinct dot" morrisi has? I'm curious to know. I could always be wrong too  . I also don't think that color should be used to ID ants if possible. It varies too much and I may or may not be colorblind.

Edited by Mdrogun, January 3 2017 - 6:21 PM.

[Aaron567]

It's obviously Morisii, it's got the color, flight time, petiole nodes/Myrmicinae, and the distinct dot under her Gaster.

Morrisii queens are brown, and look nothing like this. I wish she was morrisii.

[Connectimyrmex]

I would say some type of strange Formica queen. Nice looking queen, though!

[Mdrogun]

I would say some type of strange Formica queen. Nice looking queen, though!

This has 2 petiole nodes which puts it in the Myrmicinae subfamily. That also means it can't be a Formica species which is in the Formicinae subfamily.

[Alabama Anter]

I would say some type of strange Formica queen. Nice looking queen, though!

Whoa! How the **** does this look like Formica XD

[Batspiderfish]

The measurement is important. It's too large to be a Solenopsis thief ant or Temnothorax. It has to be Pheidole. P. morrisii was a guess based on time of collection and local abundance, since the photos were not clear enough for a key.

[Mdrogun]

Could this be Pheidole lamia?

[Aaron567]

The measurement is important. It's too large to be a Solenopsis thief ant or Temnothorax. It has to be Pheidole. P. morrisii was a guess based on time of collection and local abundance, since the photos were not clear enough for a key.

 Okay, thanks. I guess if it is Pheidole, then morrisii is the only one it could be, based off of the other species here. Every other species is either much darker in color, or are very tiny.

 

I hope this is morrisii, because that's a species I've wanted for a long time. Hopefully I'll catch another one next summer in the pool surrounded by Dorymyrmex queens like this one was

[Connectimyrmex]

Lol sorry the overall shape was slightly similar to a formica queen. I'm not very good with mainland ants.

[Alabama Anter]

Lol sorry the overall shape was slightly similar to a formica queen. I'm not very good with mainland ants.

Tsk tsk tsk Hawaii... Always "out there" XD

[Batspiderfish]

 

Lol sorry the overall shape was slightly similar to a formica queen. I'm not very good with mainland ants.

Tsk tsk tsk Hawaii... Always "out there" XD

 

 

No point in shaming somebody for trying to identify ants from outside of their area. Most people have enough trouble IDing their local species.

Furthermore, Hawaiiant has been developing their interest in a place which is totally isolated from the evolutionary diversity that can be found on continental North America. Almost every ant on those islands is easily identifiable because there is generally one species per genus. Learning to discern subfamilies and work our way down to the species would not be a completely necessary strategy for getting by in Hawaii. When the move is made to the mainland U.S., ant diversity and identification will be a whole new experience.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 6 2017 - 9:30 AM.

[Alabama Anter]

Lol sorry the overall shape was slightly similar to a formica queen. I'm not very good with mainland ants.

Tsk tsk tsk Hawaii... Always "out there" XD

No point in shaming somebody for trying to identify ants from outside of their area. Most people have enough trouble IDing their local species.

Furthermore, Hawaiiant has been developing their interest in a place which is totally isolated from the evolutionary diversity that can be found on continental North America. Almost every ant on those islands is easily identifiable because there is generally one species per genus. Learning to discern subfamilies and work our way down to the species would not be a completely necessary strategy for getting by in Hawaii. When the move is made to the mainland U.S., ant diversity and identification will be a whole new experience.

I was joking :-(

[Batspiderfish]

 

 

 

Lol sorry the overall shape was slightly similar to a formica queen. I'm not very good with mainland ants.

Tsk tsk tsk Hawaii... Always "out there" XD

No point in shaming somebody for trying to identify ants from outside of their area. Most people have enough trouble IDing their local species.

Furthermore, Hawaiiant has been developing their interest in a place which is totally isolated from the evolutionary diversity that can be found on continental North America. Almost every ant on those islands is easily identifiable because there is generally one species per genus. Learning to discern subfamilies and work our way down to the species would not be a completely necessary strategy for getting by in Hawaii. When the move is made to the mainland U.S., ant diversity and identification will be a whole new experience.

I was joking :-(

 

I'm sorry if you were joking. I just wanted to set things right.

As a community, there are some things we ought to be supportive of, and some things we ought to discourage, and I think that everybody should take a shot at identifying ants if they want to. There used to be a time when every one of my ID's were wrong, but I got way better at it through practice and by having my mistakes pointed out and explained to me.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 6 2017 - 10:07 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

Could this be Pheidole lamia?

There are only descriptions of workers for this species, I believe. I am confident that this queen's size and features limits her to the genus Pheidole, but aside from already being a notoriously difficult ant to identify, the photographs weren't clear enough to follow a key. This might be a cold case, unless one of the real myrmecologists have any input.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 6 2017 - 10:06 AM.

[Alabama Anter]

^^^ I agree!