12 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

So earlier I was reading a Colobopsis journal ( http://www.formicult...-first-nanitic/) and became very interested in this genus. I looked to see if they live in Illinois, but I couldn't find the answer. If someone knows if Colobopsis live in Illinois, please tell me. Thanks!

[Spamdy]

A quick search on Antmaps will give you the answer, both Colobopsis impressa and Colobopsis mississippiensis are native to Illinois, though the flights are over by now.

[Mettcollsuss]

A quick search on Antmaps will give you the answer, both Colobopsis impressa and Colobopsis mississippiensis are native to Illinois, though the flights are over by now.

 

Thanks!  Are they easy to find and raise?

[Mdrogun]

 

A quick search on Antmaps will give you the answer, both Colobopsis impressa and Colobopsis mississippiensis are native to Illinois, though the flights are over by now.

 

Thanks!  Are they easy to find and raise?

 

Fellow Illinoisian. There aren't any actual records of Colobopsis in our state, just records from states with a similar climate near us. They are probably extremely rare, and I for sure have never found any. Besides their rarity, they are difficult to raise. I know someone in Florida who caught a bunch of Colobopsis queens. Only two were successful.

[BMM]

I'm in eastern Missouri and I caught one at the end of June. She was sitting on a car that was parked under a streetlight. She took a long time to lay any eggs, about two months, but she's got her first workers now.

[Nathant2131]

 

 

A quick search on Antmaps will give you the answer, both Colobopsis impressa and Colobopsis mississippiensis are native to Illinois, though the flights are over by now.

 

Thanks!  Are they easy to find and raise?

 

Fellow Illinoisian. There aren't any actual records of Colobopsis in our state, just records from states with a similar climate near us. They are probably extremely rare, and I for sure have never found any. Besides their rarity, they are difficult to raise. I know someone in Florida who caught a bunch of Colobopsis queens. Only two were successful.

 

antmaps.org's database relies on reliable museam and literature records, so I'm pretty sure there are records for the genus in the state.

0    Literature Records: 6

Edited by Nathant2131, October 4 2017 - 12:04 PM.

[TennesseeAnts]

Are they in Tennessee?

[Ferox_Formicae]

Are they in Tennessee?

Yes, three species, C. impressa, C. mississippiensis, and C. obliqua, and possibly C. pylartes as they have been seen in neighboring states.

[TennesseeAnts]

Cool!!!! Just need to know where to look now...

[Major]

Blacklighting near forests in the end of June is the best way to find them.

[TennesseeAnts]

I live in the forest. So that should be easy!

[James C. Trager]

Near St. Louis, MO, I have had C. impressa & C. mississippiensis arrive at blacklight and sheet on a calm humid night in late June, after 10p.m. They nest in hollow-stemmed shrubs and up in trees in moist to wet forests and swamps. It's probably easier to collect them by cracking twigs than to catch queens and rear them. C. mississippiensis seems to really like ash trees (Fraxinus spp.).

[123LordOfAnts123]

As Trager stated yearling colonies are fairly easy to come by in a variety of dead plant material. In Florida I’ve had good luck finding them in dead hollowed out portions of beauty berry and smilax.

They’re regular visitors to lights at night, though the queens often hold on to their wings for quite awhile and will fly despite being mated. Only one in several queens may adapt to a regular test tube, but I’ve had a good success rate using small diameter glass tubes with an inner diameter of 3-5mm. Founding queens need regular hydration by moistening the cotton in such a setup since these tubes are normally open ended on both sides. Once they have workers they can survive in very dry nest conditions so long as they have a constant water source to visit.

Colonies are apparently short lived - with colonies not much more than 100 ants that quickly produce alates - perhaps unsurprisingly so considering their choice of nest sites.

Edited by 123LordOfAnts123, February 10 2019 - 4:41 PM.