7 replies to this topic

[Lonewolf6724]

Title:
1. Location- South-West Pennsylvania
2. Today's date- 9-4-2017
Body:
1. Location of collection- On pavement under a pavilion.

2. Date of collection- 9-3-2017
3. Habitat of collection- Temperate forest around collection area.
4. Length- 7 or 8mm
5. Coloration, hue, pattern and texture- orange legs, feet, and antennae. The gastor is striped and shiny. 

6. Distinguishing characteristics- Not sure...
7. Anything else distinctive- Nope.
8. Nest description-NA
 

http://www.formicult...age/10730-pic1/

http://www.formicult...age/10731-pic2/

http://www.formicult...age/10732-pic3/

http://www.formicult...age/10733-pic4/

http://www.formicult...age/10734-pic5/

 

Thank you everyone ahead of time!

 

 

[Lonewolf6724]

Can someone please close this thread. I am so sorry, idk how I opened 2...

[VoidElecent]

Lasius parasite in the umbratus group.

[Lonewolf6724]

Damn haha. So what should I do with it? I was hoping it was just a regular queen...

[Lonewolf6724]

I always seem to find weird ants. My only other queen I have is a crematogastor, and it did not lay any eggs yet.. Maybe I can find a lasius Niger queen and let this queen take over?

[ultraex2]

I don't think it can parasatize L. Niger, although you could try - you will want a smaller species like L. Neoniger or L. Alienus.

[Lonewolf6724]

Well how long will she keep in a test tube setup? I would love to keep her, but if i don't find another lasius queen soon ill have to let her go.

[ultraex2]

I've kept parasitic queens alive in a test tube for up to 8 months, just feeding them a bit of sugar every once and awhile.  If you just collect some workers/brood from an existing colony, that can be enough to get the queen started.