5 replies to this topic

[Trythis22]

Date of collection: Early July
Habitat of collection: Suburbs 
Length (from head to gaster): 5mm
Color, hue, pattern and texture: Blackish with lighter stripes along gaster
Distinguishing characteristics: Gaster is very large compared to the rest of her body. Impressive when you see it in person because this ant is very small. 
Distinguishing behavior: Sensitive to light, fairly active when disturbed. Has small pile of no more than 5 eggs.

Nuptial flight time and date: July

 

 

There is a large mite on her gaster, but she's still alive so it may not be a harmful one. We'll have to see if she's doomed or not. The mite along with pictures of other Lasius sp. led me to speculate that it might be that genus since they are known to carry lots of mites. The size of the queen doesn't match up, so there's a good chance it might be something else? Thanks. 

Edited by Trythis22, July 6 2018 - 4:22 PM.

[AntsBC]

I'm thinking Ochetellus glaber actually. Its gaster looks way too bloated to be Tapinoma, and it is definitely not Lasius.

 

Never mind. I got confused. Ochetellus glaber isn't even in the U.S.

Edited by AntsBC, July 6 2018 - 5:20 PM.

[VoidElecent]

I think she could be Tapinoma sessile; her gaster is large because it is bloated, probably with eggs. I wish I could help you with your mite dilemma, but I do not have enough experience with them.

 

Some better pictures would help confirm an identification.

Edited by VoidElecent, July 6 2018 - 5:02 PM.

[Trythis22]

AntsBC & VoidElecent, thank you for your quick responses! Doing God's work. You definitely need an eye for detail and need to be knowledgeable about very small characteristics to make an accurate guess for some of these ant genera and species. I appreciate the prompt correction. There's no use worrying about the mite at this point but thank you for your condolences. 

 

I thought there was a chance of this one being Tapinoma sp as well (I guess the sp part is redundant because there's only one species of Tapinoma in Oregon). I am bad with cameras and I can't get my old semi-cheapo travel camera to focus down to an ant so I've had to use my phone. It would definitely help if I was able to focus down to the point where I could see her anal pore. I know it sounds sick but it's one of the identifying features. The gaster is directly on top of the petiole, and the sizing matches up. Am I getting ahead of myself?

 

Here's a picture of one from Massachusetts, taken from antwiki.org

 

Could I get a confirmation that this is Tapinoma Sessile? 

[Batspiderfish]

Haha, we can't always get the anal pore in the shot! But the rest of the morphology of the gaster suggests that there is no acidopore. Everything is consistent with Tapinoma sessile. The only other remote option for that size would really be Brachymyrmex depilis if there actually were an acidopore, and those aren't going to be flying in your area until August/September. Just a fat queen!

[Trythis22]

Thank you for the confirmation Batspiderfish. I've marked the ID request solved. If anyone else has a different opinion, please post. Otherwise we are good to go.