19 replies to this topic

[DesertAntz]

Greetings! I'm new to the hobby of keeping ants but I've always loved ants since I was a kid. They were the only insects that weren't creepy to me and I loved to watch them forage and upkeep their nests. 

 

If you have any info or can point me in the direction of a book or website that deals with Arizona ants, that'd be awesome. 

 

I'm looking forward to all the things I'll learn on these forums 

[Gregory2455]

Welcome! Hope we can help you as much as we can, we have a lot of species in common between California and Arizona, what Area/City of Arizona are you in?

[Gregory2455]

Also, you even have a couple cooler ones we don't have, like Atta mexicana and Odontomachus clarus... And Acromyrmex versicolor is probably an everyday sight for you as well.

[Gregory2455]

I do not know how reliable Antweb is, but it has never let me down.

                Ants of Arizona:

 

                http://www.antweb.org/taxonomicPage.do?rank=genus&project=arizonaants&images=true

 

       It gives images, info, and locations on a map of where specimens have been located.

Edited by Gregory2455, August 26 2014 - 8:46 PM.

[DesertAntz]

Awesome! Thanks. I live smack dab in the middle of Phoenix and Tucson. Will be moving into Phoenix in about 3 months. 

 

I see a LOT of Messor Pergandei here. There's about 5 colonies on the outside of my neighborhood in a dirt lot, mixed in with a few Solenopsis Xyloni colonies. I even have a Dorymyrmex Bicolor colony living in my backyard. As for the species you've named.. I'm unfamiliar with them. But it's not like I've been traveling very far looking for ants. I just stumble around in my immediate area. I plan on exploring a lot more when I move, though. 

[Gregory2455]

Atta and Acromyrmex are leafcutter genuses, and possibly the two coolest species in southwest, Acromyrmex versicolor, and Atta mexicana.

Odontomachus is a trap jaw ant genus.

[DesertAntz]

I'd love to observe leafcutters and trap jaw ants. I'll make it my mission to find some colonies. 

[Gregory2455]

Look for a good place to find them, I know Acromyrmex versicolor is just about everywhere in Arizona, Atta mexicana in the US is only found in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Odontomachus clarus can probably be found a bit southeast of Tuscon. The map on Antweb can show where specimens were collected. 

[DesertAntz]

That site is useful 

[Gregory2455]

Indeed, I am not sure if it is 100% reliable, but it has never let me down.

[dspdrew]

Welcome to the forum DesertAntz. Antweb is pretty much the authority on ants, and is quite reliable.

[Crystals]

Welcome. 

[Gregory2455]

I want to see pictures of your Solenopsis xyloni! 

[AntsAreUs]

Antz Rule!

[DesertAntz]

I want to see pictures of your Solenopsis xyloni! 

Definitely! They still seem to be getting adjusted to the test tube so I don't want to disturb them for some camera time. But once they seem comfortable and have a nice brood pile I'll snap some pics, although it has been 2 weeks since capture. Still no sign of eggs. Or at least from what I can see from above. I'm too scared to touch the tubes! 

 

EDIT: I have those 2 S. Xyloni queens, 1 tiny black queen I haven't ID'd, and 1 Red queen which I believe to be some type of Pogonomyrmex(?) yet to be ID'd. I'll be posting pics of all of them once I'm not too scared of disturbing them. I had one other S. Xyloni queen but she died the day after she was captured    

Edited by DesertAntz, August 27 2014 - 5:16 PM.

[Gregory2455]

You may want to give the Pogonomyrmex some grass seed until you can positively ID them to the species, most of them are Semi-Clausteral and require food before they get their first worker.

Give picture of the black queen and the Pogonomyrmex as well so we can help with ID'ing them. What measurement is the tiny black queen?

[dspdrew]

Give the Pogonomyrmex insects mainly.

[DesertAntz]

Yeah I noticed she (the suspected Pogonomyrmex) had a small gaster meaning she's semi-claustral. Not knowing exactly what to give her I gave her a drop of honey as soon as I put her in the tube. She seemed to like it, she immediately went for it and began drinking. Then about a week later I sacrificed a Dorymyrmex bicolor worker and put it in her tube. Not sure she did anything with it, but I have since removed it because I didn't want it to get nasty in there. 

 

BTW, how long do dead insects take before they start to spoil? 

[DesertAntz]

And I'll work on getting them ID'd today. All I have is my poopy phone camera though 

[Crystals]

Depends on the insect, the temperature, and humidity.

With my Alberta location, I place 1/3 of a mealworm/cricket on a bit of tin foil and remove it after a day.  I feed mine more often because I don't leave them in the tube for long.