1. Location of collection: St. Louis suburbs
2. Date of collection: 6/28/18
3. Habitat of collection: Indoors, surrounding area is suburban with a creek and some light woods nearby
4. Length (from head to gaster): 9-10 mm
5. Color, hue, pattern and texture: Red head and thorax, gaster is black
6. Distinguishing characteristics: Looks like one petiole
7. Distinguishing behavior: She's quick and a good climber
8. Nest description: Unsure
9. Nuptial flight time and date: 6/28/18, caught in the morning but probably flew at least a few hours earlier
This one was fate. She must have flown into our warehouse this morning, snuck into a sealed room, worked her way into a bag where she hid in a little plastic part. After that she was put into a box, moved halfway across the building and it just so happened that I pulled the one bag out of the one box she was hiding in. She was surprisingly calm. I was able to pluck her out and give her a good once over as she sat in her little plastic home. She freaked out once I tried to get her into a vial though. Anyway, I'm pretty sure she's some sort of Formica queen, but I'm not very familiar with the genus.
