3 replies to this topic

[Waganga]

Hi all,

 

I've been seeing these workers crawling up and down my maple trees in the front yard. At most, I'm able to find 0-3 of them in the whole front yard at any given time, so if they live nearby, their colony isn't very large. I'm trying to ID these workers, because I think they are related to these two queens I found last week. It seems like those two look like C. Hyatti, as does one I found about a month ago, so I'm curious to know if they all came from the same local nest. C. Hyatti isn't supposed to live in Colorado, but...?

 

Location: Maple tree trunk, urban front yard, Northglenn, CO, USA

Date: 6/2/18, afternoon

Habitat: Maple tree, front yard

Length: 6 to 7 mm

Coloration: Dark brown head, dark brown gaster, dark orange body and legs. 

Characteristics: 9 antennae segments, one petiole node, fuzzy gaster, otherwise smooth body.

Behavior: They hide when I attempt to collect them, by finding a crack in the bark and wedging themselves in there real good. They're very cautious.

Nest: I'm really not sure here, since I haven't seen a nest, but I'm guessing they might live up in the trees themselves? The two queens I caught were found up high on the face of the house, and like those queens, this worker wanted to climb UP when I distressed it. 

 

Click here for all the pictures

 

Best possible pictures:

 

Thanks for looking!
Kayla

Edited by Waganga, June 5 2018 - 7:53 AM.

[YsTheAnt]

Some sort of Camponotus from the myrmentoma subgenus. Maybe C. nearcticus?

[Waganga]

Suggestions on the queens I caught were: C. discolor, C. hyatti, C. nearcticus, C. novaeboracensis, and C. decipiens. That basically covers Camponotus with this coloration, lol. I was hoping maybe IDing this worker could increase my confidence with IDing my queens, since I am still not totally sure of their ID.

 

Where is the best guide for understanding the differences/nuance between these various similar species?

[LC3]

Definitely not C. novaeboracens that’s a much larger species and not a Myrmentoma species. C. hyatti queens seem to clearly have a different shaped petiole then C. nearcticus. I haven’t noticed any easy indicators for the other two. I’m sure there is a key somewhere but I don’t know of any.