30 replies to this topic

[MC Wren]

Hey everyone, I used this forum a lot last year but I haven't really used it at all since hibernation. Anyway, I caught this Lasius queen last year, along with a few similar ones. I suspect it's Lasius neoniger because of its location, but I'm not really sure. I caught them during a huge nuptial flight in the afternoon of October (maybe September) last year in a suburban area of Long Island, New York. I believe they came from nearby colonies on people's lawns. They're around 8 mm long, and they still have no workers yet. I tried getting good pictures of the antennae and mandibles with my macro lens, hopefully they're good enough.

[VoidElecent]

The pictures are really good, what camera are you using?

 

I have a very similar (if not identical) looking Lasius queen, with pupae as well. I'm waiting for her workers to eclose, so I can identify her more easily depending on the colour of the adult workers. That'll narrow down the possibilities for sure:

• Light brown workers: L. neoniger or L. pillitarsis
• Grey, black or dark brown workers: L. alienus
• Orange or yellow workers: L. nearcticus or L. flavus

Of course, it's entirely possible to ID queens, it may be worth giving it a shot!

[Nathant2131]

Try getting some closer shots of the mandibles, and antennal scapes to see the hair coverage.

[Nathant2131]

The pictures are really good, what camera are you using?

 

I have a very similar (if not identical) looking Lasius queen, with pupae as well. I'm waiting for her workers to eclose, so I can identify her more easily depending on the colour of the adult workers. That'll narrow down the possibilities for sure:

• Light brown workers: L. neoniger or L. pillitarsis
• Grey, black or dark brown workers: L. alienus
• Orange or yellow workers: L. nearcticus or L. flavus

Of course, it's entirely possible to ID queens, it may be worth giving it a shot!

 

Color probably won't be very reliable to differentiate L. neoniger / L. pallitarsis and Lasius alienus.

[VoidElecent]

 

The pictures are really good, what camera are you using?

 

I have a very similar (if not identical) looking Lasius queen, with pupae as well. I'm waiting for her workers to eclose, so I can identify her more easily depending on the colour of the adult workers. That'll narrow down the possibilities for sure:

• Light brown workers: L. neoniger or L. pillitarsis
• Grey, black or dark brown workers: L. alienus
• Orange or yellow workers: L. nearcticus or L. flavus

Of course, it's entirely possible to ID queens, it may be worth giving it a shot!

 

Color probably won't be very reliable to differentiate L. neoniger / L. pallitarsis and Lasius alienus.

 

 

I don't know about its effectiveness in L. neoniger vs. L. pillitarsis, but I think it should be sufficient to rule out L. alienus. You should check this thread out from a while ago, it may help.

[MC Wren]

I think I've narrowed her down to Lasius flavus or Lasius nearcticus, because she has 7 teeth on her mandibles and no hairs on her antennal scapes. Anyone disagree?

[Nathant2131]

 

 

The pictures are really good, what camera are you using?

 

I have a very similar (if not identical) looking Lasius queen, with pupae as well. I'm waiting for her workers to eclose, so I can identify her more easily depending on the colour of the adult workers. That'll narrow down the possibilities for sure:

• Light brown workers: L. neoniger or L. pillitarsis
• Grey, black or dark brown workers: L. alienus
• Orange or yellow workers: L. nearcticus or L. flavus

Of course, it's entirely possible to ID queens, it may be worth giving it a shot!

 

Color probably won't be very reliable to differentiate L. neoniger / L. pallitarsis and Lasius alienus.

 

 

I don't know about its effectiveness in L. neoniger vs. L. pillitarsis, but I think it should be sufficient to rule out L. alienus. You should check this thread out from a while ago, it may help.

 

I disagree. The workers of Lasius neoniger and Lasius alienus can vary in color, and end up looking wayyyy too similar for their color to be considered a distinguishing character. 

 

Lasius alienus:

 

 

Lasius neoniger:

 

 

Looking for the hard morphological characters of these two (in this case, the hair coverage on the antennal scapes) would be the ideal way to approach this ID in all respects. 

[Batspiderfish]

I think I've narrowed her down to Lasius flavus or Lasius nearcticus, because she has 7 teeth on her mandibles and no hairs on her antennal scapes. Anyone disagree?

 

Right. If there aren't any standing hairs on the antennal scapes, then it is not Lasius neoniger nor Lasius pallitarsis. Lasius alienus is still a distant possibility, but given the small-looking eyes, the flavus group is a good bet. Looks like you'll be finding out soon!

Edited by Batspiderfish, June 6 2017 - 4:46 AM.

[Nathant2131]

I agree with flavus- group on this one. It is a little tough to differentiate L. flavus and L. nearcticus. The last segment of the maxillary palp on L. flavus will be shorter than the second-to-last one. If not, it is L. nearcticus.

[MC Wren]

I might try to take a look at her under my microscope today, but I highly doubt it'll be able to focus on something that close.

[MC Wren]

The first nanitic eclosed today! Is it any easier to differentiate between L. flavus and L. nearcticus workers than it is for the queens?

[Nathant2131]

The first nanitic eclosed today! Is it any easier to differentiate between L. flavus and L. nearcticus workers than it is for the queens?

Not that I am aware of.

 

Let's see some pics of the worker, to make sure it is not a niger-group species.

Edited by Nathant2131, June 6 2017 - 2:01 PM.

[MC Wren]

Alright, I looked under the microscope and it appears that she's Lasius nearcticus. The last segment of her maxillary palps is longer than the second to last one.

[noebl1]

This has me a bit bumming about mine (which are super close to eclosing their first nanitics any day now as all have pupae).  I really wanted L. neoniger, and I know they were flying the day I found mine as the colonies were overflowing with alates, but also others as well for sure (including an interesting couple Lasius that were smaller, but quite a bit yellower underneath.)  I also noticed among the Lasius suspect neoniger I found, they all coloration wise looked the same, but one was noticeable larger than the others.  Wish I could get a shot with a microscope for sure.

[MC Wren]

It's been 2 days, and the first nanitics (the darkest ones in the pictures) are still not yellow. In fact, they're darker than yellow! Is that normal for this species?

[Canadian anter]

Well, they definitely aren't flavus group that's for sure

[noebl1]

Well, they definitely aren't flavus group that's for sure

 

Looking at the Field Guide of New England book, the eyes look way to large for flavus or nearcticus.

[Nathant2131]

Wow, yes these don't look like flavus-group at all!

[VoidElecent]

I would start to consider L. alienus and L. pallitarsis more seriously!

[noebl1]

Since it flew in Sept/October, I'd think L. alienus would be less likely as they are mostly July fliers I thought?