12 replies to this topic

[AntsMaryland]

I was wondering for next year If not this year already, what species are likely to be found in Maryland. Are their any polygenus and polymorphic ant species that live in Maryland? I would appreciate any information. Thanks. Best Regards!

[ultraex2]

There are a ton of polymorphic Camponotus:

Camponotus americanus

Camponotus caryae

Camponotus castaneus

Camponotus chromaiodes

Camponotus nearcticus

Camponotus novaeboracensis

Camponotus pennsylvanicus

Camponotus snellingi

Camponotus socius

Camponotus subbarbatus

 

As far as Polygynous ants go, there are:

Tapinoma Sessile

Stenamma

Solenopsis Molesta?

Prenolepis Imparis?

 

Not 100% sure on the P. Imparis and S. Molesta - there may be more.

[AntsMaryland]

Thanks, but I was wondering if ther any ants that in my area that are polymorphic and polygynous.

[ultraex2]

You asked for both polygynous and polymorphic ants in your post - I put both.  There are a lot of polymorphic Camponotus in your area that I listed first.

[AntsMaryland]

I meant a species of ant that is polygenous AND polymorphic

[ultraex2]

Ahh, okay - that pretty much narrows it down to just Pheidole as far as I know, especially for temperate regions.

[MegaMyrmex]

Polygynous and polymorphic- Pheidole

[Salmon]

Pheidole dentata is polygynous I believe... I don't know if Pheidole megacephala has been introduced to Maryland, if so it'd most likely be found in some sort of building or greenhouse.

[cpman]

Pheidole dentata is polygynous I believe... I don't know if Pheidole megacephala has been introduced to Maryland, if so it'd most likely be found in some sort of building or greenhouse.

P. dentata is indeed polygynous. There are a few other members of the same genus that are native to the US that are as well, but I'm not sure how many of them live in Maryland. Some of them are pretty small though.

Edited by cpman, July 21 2017 - 8:04 AM.

[AntsMaryland]

Does anyone know where/how to get P. dentate queens?

[cpman]

Does anyone know where/how to get P. dentate queens?

Pheidole mostly flew in June here, but they may still have some that haven't flown, depending on the species.
Your season may still be going on. There are other polygyne Pheidole so keep your eyes open.

I've always found it pretty easy to find queens of this genus -- just walking around after a flight or stuck in a pool. That may be because Pheidole are pretty dominant around here.

[Reacker]

I spent the spring and summer of 2008 in DC and it was an anting paradise compared to most of the western states I've lived in. Whereas in these much drier climates where you can only really collect adult colonies in mid spring, when I was in DC I had absolutely no trouble finding colonies of various species from various genus during the entirety of my stay. The ant diversity in the undeveloped stretches of bush land and forest in between suburbs was spectacular. 

 

Go find an oak tree and start cracking open acorns and you will find quite a few Temnothorax colonies as well as a few queens from other genus that have taken up residence in them. I found several species of queens in acorns but the queen I remember being most surprised to find was a large Cremotogaster queen that you wouldn't ordinarily think would choose to cram herself into one. Also worthwhile is to lift up fallen logs and their bark as there are quite a few interesting things to be found under them. When lifting the logs and especially the bark be sure to do it as non-destructively as possible (I remember the bark usually coming off in one unbroken sheet) so that when you are done looking you can similarly lightly place them back to where they belong to avoid unnecessary habitat destruction.

 

Rocks are of course always good to lift if you can find them (though I never did see many good rocks while I was there). The same best practices that apply to being gentle while lifting logs applies to rocks as well as it is very easy to damage the livability of the space under a rock for many years and unlike logs those rocks are not being replaced at an appreciable rate. 

 

 

If you want to find queens and don't like ticks then I suggest you spend the early morning hours and the hours during sunset walking around in your neighborhood. I had great luck finding queens from various genus doing this. 

Edited by Reacker, July 21 2017 - 1:51 PM.

[FeedTheAnts]

Does anyone know where/how to get P. dentate queens?

It seems like they have already flown down here, I have not seen their queens for a while. I caught a bunch a little more than a month ago.