14 replies to this topic

[Mettcollsuss]

I am certain that this queen is either Lasius umbratus or Lasius claviger, but I need help to determine which one.

 

 

1. Location of collection: School garden/playground

 

2. Date of collection: Mid—Late October

 

3. Habitat of collection: City

 

4. Length: 6—7mm
 

5. Coloration, hue, pattern, and texture: Head, thorax, and gaster are smooth and a shiny brown. The gaster is a slightly darker shade. Mandibles, legs, and antennae are a lighter orange color. Her whole body is covered in erect hairs.
 

6. Distinguishing characteristics: Very noticeable antennal clubs. Head is curved where it meets the pronotum. Top of the thorax is completely flat and slopes slightly towards the petiole. Very shiny. Large mandibles.

 

7. Anything else distinctive: None.
 

8. Nest description: None.

 

9. Nuptial flight time and date: None.
 

10. Post the clearest pictures possible:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 21 2018 - 6:01 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

Are these publicly viewable?

[Mettcollsuss]

Are these publicly viewable?

 

Fixed!

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 21 2018 - 6:02 PM.

[Aquaexploder]

Looks like Lasius claviger to me, but I am still a little new to this.

[Batspiderfish]

Definitely from the claviger group, and most likely Lasius claviger.

The "alpha" form of Lasius latipes looks very similar; a profile view of the petiole is often helpful to differentiate those two. The petiolar scale of Lasius claviger is sharp, in profile, while that of Lasius latipes is blunt.

Oh, and btw: every post has a time-stamp. The date in the title would probably be more appropriate if it reflected the time that you found the queen(s).

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 21 2018 - 8:05 PM.

[Mettcollsuss]

 The date in the title would probably be more appropriate if it reflected the time that you found the queen(s).

Yeah, but I forgot to record the date I caught the queens on.

 

The "alpha" form of Lasius latipes looks very similar; a profile view of the petiole is often helpful to differentiate those two.

What do you mean by "alpha form"? And the legs aren't thick enough to be L. latipes.

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 22 2018 - 4:27 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

Lasius latipes has dimorphic queens. "Alpha form" variants are very similar in appearance to Lasius claviger. The "beta form" queens are the ones built like tanks that you couldn't possibly mistaken for anything else (except maybe L. murphyi).

I had a hard time telling if the L. latipes queen I am raising was Lasius claviger or not.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 22 2018 - 6:04 AM.

[Mettcollsuss]

Lasius latipes has dimorphic queens. "Alpha form" variants are very similar in appearance to Lasius claviger. The "beta form" queens are the ones built like tanks that you couldn't possibly mistaken for anything else (except maybe L. murphyi).

oh. I've only ever seen the beta forms then. I don't think I've ever heard of a species that has dimorphic queens before now.

[Mettcollsuss]

The petiole seems more like that of Lasius claviger, while the antennae seem more those of Lasius latipes.

[Batspiderfish]

The petiole seems more like that of Lasius claviger, while the antennae seem more those of Lasius latipes.

 

The petiole is the diagnostic feature, so if it's sharp, then this is definitely Lasius claviger. Most of the Acanthomyops subgenus has those thick, armored antennae.

[Mettcollsuss]

The slanted thorax seems to be a feature of L. latipes.

 

In one of your threads, you stated that the Claviger group often hybridizes. Could this be a hybrid queen?

Edited by Mettcollsuss, January 22 2018 - 6:31 AM.

[Batspiderfish]

There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding features of hybridization. It's safe to assume that she is just L. claviger.

[Mettcollsuss]

There is a lot of misinformation out there regarding features of hybridization. It's safe to assume that she is just L. claviger.

Thanks. This is my first time dealing with parasitic queens, so I'm a little confused. 

 

I do have a problem. Now that I know what species she is, I don't have any host workers. I have a single L. flavus queen but no workers. Do you have any tips on finding host workers?

[Batspiderfish]

I normally don't advocate for disturbing wild nests, but with enough patience you are sure to find a Lasius colony situated under a flat rock that would be minimally invasive to remove. Use a fine paintbrush to corral pupae and a few workers into a test tube setup, and introduce callow workers and eventually the rest of the brood to the queen as the mature workers open them up. After such a short-term stay, the wild workers can be returned to their nest.

Make sure that your queen gets periodic feedings, as this can extend her lifespan in suboptimal conditions. Don't place sugary liquid inside the test tube. Always use a tray or the dry cotton blocker.

 

Having said that, the only success I had with this subgenus was a naturalistic introduction where the queen was exposed to mature workers. One real aspect of hybridization is "sperm parasitism", wherein males will mate with queens of different species and sabotage their ability to produce viable reproductive offspring; I imagine that this has had an impact on the success of rearing such queens in captivity.

Edited by Batspiderfish, January 22 2018 - 7:01 AM.

[Zmagz]

I have a Lasius clavigar queen that looks like this one, and I've been trying to introduce it to my Lasius alienus colony (deceased queen) but I've tried many methods on introducing the parasitic queen but it never works.