Maybe a quarter of an inch of rain last night, nothing too crazy. I noticed some activity around a nest in the back yard (trees with a water feature) about 10 AM, which by 11 AM had multiplied into 8 nests just on the modestly sized property.
About 11:15 or so, the sun broke through the clouds and it felt like the temperature instantly shot up 5 degrees. This was apparently the trigger and the alates were energized and began to take flight. Pretty fun to watch.
Anyway, I caught a few. My guess is they're all Monomorium minimium, but there's decent variation in gaster size for in ones in the second photo. The pair in the middle seem downright petite compared to the rest, the rightmost in particular. I'm not sure how well that's showing up in the photo. The second photo was from a second batch I collected about 15 miles away in a suburban area.
All are roughly 5mm long, and a glossy, evenly colored black. No reddish or off coloration that I can see. If there's hairs, I'd need better optics. The workers from the first batch, as you can see, are 2mm at best. Males are... surprisingly similar in size to the queens. Is it possible that, at least maybe the top middle is a wingless male? The size disparity is bothering me, I guess.
Thoughts?
Oh, and everything I've seen suggests they're okay with multiple queens, so I was planning on leaving them in the two groups you see here. If anyone thinks that's a horrible idea, feel free to chime in.
Edited by Antsinmycloset, July 1 2018 - 11:16 AM.
