842 replies to this topic

[sericultivist]

Some good spots are:
Santa Teresa Park, San Jose
Stevens Creek Park, Cupertino
Black diamond mines, East Bay area

 

     I'd like to share a few of my spots as well. I'm leaving specific areas of these places out, because I think a lot of the fun with finding queens is exploring nature and finding things for yourself. That being said, a lot of people in the Bay Area don't even know where to start because of how common Argentine ants are here.

 

Something I'd like to make clear though is that the chances are you WILL NOT see all of these species if you go to these places. Temperature is very important, especially since most of these parks are in traditionally cold parts of the Bay Area that don't heat up when the rest of it is warm. That being said, be selective about when you visit places. Aim for 72+ degrees days (Make sure you check the temperature of the place you're going, not just the place you live. The Bay Area is a land of microclimates.) and have a general idea of what you're looking for when you go. 

 

San Bruno Mountain, near Daly City - Easy to get to and fantastic Formica spot, at least 5 species up there. I've also seen mature and very nicely coloured red and black Camponotus vicinus colonies, full of alates. This is a great spot to see huge Formica integroides mounds, they are right next to the parking lots. The huge picnic field is covered in Formica fusca as well.

 

San Pedro Valley/Montarra Mountain, near Pacifica - Big, uphill trail that starts you off in San Pedro Valley and brings you all the way up to Montarra Mountain. Tons of Formica, Camponotus, and if you look closely enough you'll see Monomorium everywhere as well. Tons of Formica argentea in the parking lot as well. The further up the trail you go the more diversity you encounter. It starts with Formica fusca and Aphaenogaster occidentalis, and as you climb you begin to find things like Camponotus hyatti and Formica integroides. I found Temnothorax on the Manzanita bushes in the scrub about halfway up. Another cool thing about this trail is that P.S. Ward went through it in the 90's on an ant collection campaign and identified over 27 different species in the valley, including Pogonomyrmex subdentatus, Pheidole californica, and Crematogaster coarctica.

 

Tennessee Valley Trails, near Mill Valley - Great spot for Camponotus after dark, I've seen at least three species. Semitestaceus flies here in swarms. I find Formica in the Fusca group here as well, along with Aphaenogaster occidentalis. I find Camponotus semitestaceus and Camponotus vicinus queens just after dark here when they fly. You'll have to avoid stepping on them throughout certain trails as they can get really plentiful. Most of the Formica I see are on the road leading up to the trailhead and Miwok Stables, not in the valley itself.

 

Mount Tamalpais, near Mill Valley - All around great spot for ants. Most of it is undisturbed wilderness with hiking trails running through it. Good spot for Camponotus, amazing spot for Aphaenogaster occidentalis (lift up wet logs), decent Formica diversity, big Veromessor andrei trails, and I caught a Liomepotum occidentale queen there last year. You'll find plenty of Tapinoma sessile too, if you're into that. Despite having spent so much time up on the mountain, I was mostly photographing amphibians. I haven't had a good chance to really scope out ants up there, but I suspect there's a lot more than I've listed.

 

Edgewood Natural Preserve, near Redwood City - Veromessor andrei are the stars of this place. Instead of being the regular red & black variety that you find everywhere else in the bay area, the Veromessor andrei here are pure black. Good spot for Prenolepis imparis too, I caught a queen there in February. Camponotus vicinus and a few Formica species can be found here too. Unfortunately, a few areas are overrun with Linepithema humile.

[Jadeninja9]

Thanks for all the spots guys. I put them on a list on the first post of this topic.

[sericultivist]

Another place I'd like to add that I visited yesterday:

 

Sycamore Grove Park, in between Pleasanton and Livermore - Basically a flat and more easily accessible Mt. Diablo. Pogonomyrmex subdentatus nests can be found along the sides of the trails, as well as both Veromessor andrei AND pergandei. Pheidole californica and Pheidole hyatti are also very common along the sides of the trails. I saw plenty of Dorymyrmex insanus, as well as Dorymyrmex bicolor. Solenopsis xyloni are all over one of the southern trails. A lone Hypoponera opacior was found near a picnic table, and I'd find Myrmecocystus mimicus scattered throughout the park. As the day progressed and the sun started going down I saw Camponotus vicinus (red & black variety) and possibly Camponotus semitestaceus foraging parties. I found a dead Formica integroides worker as well. Linepithema humile are present there, but they were by far the least common species I encountered. 

 

Most of the time I spent there was focused on Pogonomyrmex but I plan to go back there and spend more time trying to observe different species that might be less obvious, like checking the huge oak trees for acorns and Temnothorax. The park is interesting because it has dry fields with sparse oak and sycamore trees, but it also has more lush, wet forests and streams that cross through it, making a nice blend of habitats. 

[YsTheAnt]

Veromessor pergandei is not found this far north, you sure that’s what they were?

[sericultivist]

Veromessor pergandei is not found this far north, you sure that’s what they were?

 

There's absolutely no way they were andrei, they had a large, established nest but the workers were all half the size of andrei workers. I assumed they must be pergandei, they were all black. If there's another species lurking around up here that I'm not aware of, let me know.

 

Edit: Unless I discovered the Veromessor andrei equivalent of a miniature poodle.

Edited by sericultivist, April 30 2018 - 12:26 PM.

[nurbs]

 

Veromessor pergandei is not found this far north, you sure that’s what they were?

 

There's absolutely no way they were andrei, they had a large, established nest but the workers were all half the size of andrei workers. I assumed they must be pergandei, they were all black. If there's another species lurking around up here that I'm not aware of, let me know.

 

Edit: Unless I discovered the Veromessor andrei equivalent of a miniature poodle.

 

 

V. andrei and V. pergandei are about the same size. Believe both are polymorphic, at least V. pergandei are.

 

V. pergandei has never been reported up north, but not saying they can't be found up there.

 

All the V. andrei up north are black. Never seen any red varieties. First time I ever saw a red variety V. andrei was last year here in SoCal. 

 

Grab a few workers and look under a macro. V. pergandei are very shiny, only seen them in the desert - whereas V. andrei are matte and hairier and can be found in cooler environments. What you saw may be something else.

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

V. pergandei. All black, very shiny.

 

 

V. andrei from SoCal, red variety. Notice matte coloring.  Both have spines on their back, but on V. andrei is it more prominent and longer.

 

Edited by nurbs, April 30 2018 - 12:47 PM.

[sericultivist]

Hmm, I'm not sure if it was pergandei after seeing the videos. I know andrei pretty well, as they are very, very common around here and their nests are massive. These were too small to be andrei, even taking into account their polymorphism. The tiny Veromessor I saw were not polymorphic, all of them being the same size. I considered that maybe they were nanitics, but the nest was simply too large for that to be true, having several large entrances and hundreds of workers. 

 

I took a short video of one of the smaller nest entrances to the side, where a few workers were cleaning out the nest.

 

[nurbs]

Hmm, I'm not sure if it was pergandei after seeing the videos. I know andrei pretty well, as they are very, very common around here and their nests are massive. These were too small to be andrei, even taking into account their polymorphism. The tiny Veromessor I saw were not polymorphic, all of them being the same size. I considered that maybe they were nanitics, but the nest was simply too large for that to be true, having several large entrances and hundreds of workers. 

 

I took a short video of one of the smaller nest entrances to the side, where a few workers were cleaning out the nest.

 

 

Those aren't pergandeis.

[sericultivist]

I've come to that conclusion myself, but they aren't andrei either.

 

Is it possible that Veromessor chicoensis has a dark form?

Edited by sericultivist, April 30 2018 - 3:52 PM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

Really wish we could have a Bay Area Anting trip

 

Would help me to get to know how the experts do it 

Edited by sirjordanncurtis, April 30 2018 - 3:57 PM.

[nurbs]

I've come to that conclusion myself, but they aren't andrei either.
 
Is it possible that Veromessor chicoensis has a dark form?

Don’t believe those are Veromessors. Get some closeup shots and post a proper ID thread.

[sericultivist]

 

I've come to that conclusion myself, but they aren't andrei either.
 
Is it possible that Veromessor chicoensis has a dark form?

Don’t believe those are Veromessors. Get some closeup shots and post a proper ID thread.

 

 

I'll have to do it next time I go out there. It's a long way for me to go (I live in the city, don't have a car) and I didn't take measurements.

[YsTheAnt]

They almost resemble Tetramorium honestly.

On a side note, what lows (temp wise) do you have to look for for Camponotus Vicinus flights? All the myrmentoma camponotus flew in my area, but no vicinus quite yet.

Edited by YsTheAnt, May 1 2018 - 6:06 AM.

[sirjordanncurtis]

They almost resemble Tetramorium honestly.

I think they are tetramorium. You would have to examine the antennae and the base of the antenna to know for sure, but they look exactly like the tetramoriums outside my house.

[YsTheAnt]

Veromessor pergandei is not found this far north, you sure that’s what they were?

There's absolutely no way they were andrei, they had a large, established nest but the workers were all half the size of andrei workers. I assumed they must be pergandei, they were all black. If there's another species lurking around up here that I'm not aware of, let me know.

Edit: Unless I discovered the Veromessor andrei equivalent of a miniature poodle.

V. andrei and V. pergandei are about the same size. Believe both are polymorphic, at least V. pergandei are.

V. pergandei has never been reported up north, but not saying they can't be found up there.

All the V. andrei up north are black. Never seen any red varieties. First time I ever saw a red variety V. andrei was last year here in SoCal.

Grab a few workers and look under a macro. V. pergandei are very shiny, only seen them in the desert - whereas V. andrei are matte and hairier and can be found in cooler environments. What you saw may be something else.



EDIT:

V. pergandei. All black, very shiny.



V. andrei from SoCal, red variety. Notice matte coloring. Both have spines on their back, but on V. andrei is it more prominent and longer

I know that there are red and black V. Andrei in Yosemite, never seen any in the Bay though. What temperature lows do you have to look for for Camponotus by the way?

[Jadeninja9]

There are only two Bay Area Veromessor species according to antweb.org: Veromessor andrei and Veromessor chicoensis. They must be a black form of chicoensis.

[YsTheAnt]

Those look like Tetramorium, I'm telling ya. Antweb is almost always right, but not always complete

[Jadeninja9]

Hold on, this can’t be right. According to antweb there are no tetramorium species in the Bay Area at all.

[antsinmypants]

I'll be up in the Bay Area the first week of June. Will there be queen ants in the hills above UC Berkeley, specifically Tilden Regional Park or Siesta Valley Recreational Center? What about the Redwood, Joaquin Miller and Anthony Chabot Regional parks? If so, what kind of queen ants shall I be on the lookout for?

[sirjordanncurtis]

Hold on, this can’t be right. According to antweb there are no tetramorium species in the Bay Area at all.

 

Tetramorium Immigrans is apparently an exotic species in the Bay Area. Which is funny, since I find them pretty much everywhere.