16 replies to this topic

[eekhoorn]

Hello dear forum members, I'm unexperienced in ant keeping. I would appreciate your help to identify this ant I caught climbing my couch.

 

I live in Brazil, in a southern state called Santa Catarina. I caught the ant in the first days of December. It's length is about 1.3 to 1.5 centimeters (0.5 to 0.6 inches).

 

An interesting fact about this ant, she can't climb this plastic container I've put her on. She sometimes even try to climb, but seems that she is to heavy and the bad grip on that pvc plastic makes her fall everytime. 

 

I'm pretty sure it's a Queen Ant due to its size, but I have no idea about its species and everything else. And I've done a little research on common ants in Brazil but there is no good forum or specialized site about this subject that I know about, and I could not get an acceptable answer to my question.

 

Here are two pics from my ant.

 

 

 

 

Thanks.

Edited by eekhoorn, December 9 2017 - 2:28 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

http://www.formicult...t-a-new-thread/

[eekhoorn]

Mettcollsuss, on 09 Dec 2017 - 12:31 PM, said:

http://www.formicult...t-a-new-thread/

 

If you read my post you'll see that I informed: Location, Date, Habitat of collection, Length. The coloration you may see on the two pics I've posted.

 

I have no more infos, besides that I suspect it's some variant of an Camponotus ant.

Edited by eekhoorn, December 9 2017 - 4:49 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

On antmaps.org, you can see all the species native to your area. You can most likely find your species on there.

[Phoenix]

Camponotus sp. 

Edited by Phoenix, December 9 2017 - 10:52 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Side view photo would be useful.

[Mettcollsuss]

In my experience, Camponotus are fairly good climbers, even queens, but maybe they're different where you live.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, December 9 2017 - 8:30 AM.

[Skirmitch]

 Judging by the form of the mesosoma alone and the size of the ant, I would say Camponotus sp. Can u take a full lateral picture?

[Skirmitch]

Mettcollsuss, on 09 Dec 2017 - 4:30 PM, said:

In my experience, Camponotus are fairly good climbers, even queens, but maybe they're different where you live.

 Our Camponotus here in Chile are so stupidly good at climbing and fast runners that u get scared when trying to contain a worker that is hysterically trying to climb to bite u

[Martialis]

This is most definitely a Camponotus sp.

 

If you can get closer photos from the side and top, we may be able to identify her to a species level.

[eekhoorn]

Thank you all for the replies, I'll make an better resolution pic from the side, as requested and post it here. Probably on Monday.

Thanks again to all of you!

[VoidElecent]

What a beautiful ant, definitely some sort of Camponotus.

Edited by VoidElecent, December 9 2017 - 10:36 AM.

[Martialis]

VoidElecent, on 09 Dec 2017 - 6:36 PM, said:

What a beautiful ant, definitely some sort of Camponotus.

 

Although this ant is definitely Camponotus, the colouring is reminiscent of the diurnal Myrmecucystus.

Edited by Martialis, December 9 2017 - 12:19 PM.

[Connectimyrmex]

Martialis, on 09 Dec 2017 - 6:39 PM, said:

 

VoidElecent, on 09 Dec 2017 - 6:36 PM, said:

What a beautiful ant, definitely some sort of Camponotus.

 

Although not native to that area of Brazil, it definitely reminds me of Myrmecocystus.

 

The head is far too large to be Myrmecocystus. Myrmecocystus queens have body structures reminiscent of Formica and/or Anoplolepis queens.

[Martialis]

Connectimyrmex, on 09 Dec 2017 - 7:30 PM, said:

 

Martialis, on 09 Dec 2017 - 6:39 PM, said:

 

VoidElecent, on 09 Dec 2017 - 6:36 PM, said:

What a beautiful ant, definitely some sort of Camponotus.

 

Although not native to that area of Brazil, it definitely reminds me of Myrmecocystus.

 

The head is far too large to be Myrmecocystus. Myrmecocystus queens have body structures reminiscent of Formica and/or Anoplolepis queens.

 

 

Indeed! This ant is definitely Camponotus. I was just mentioning how its colouring looks similar to that of several species of diurnal Myrmecocystus,

[MegaMyrmex]

The head looks like Camponotus singularis but the gaster isn't covered in white hairs...

[Connectimyrmex]

I'd just have the queen found her colony and have the workers be identified. In my experience as an ant identifier, workers are much easier to identify.