5 replies to this topic

[Nylanderiavividula]

Anyone else get a euphoric kick when they wrestle down a tough identification? Here in Georgia we have fifteen listed native Pheidole species. I recently marauded a wild colony (got the queen, ~30 workers, and varying brood stages) and set about IDing them. It didn’t take long to get it down to the crassicornis type (widened antennal scape at point of insertion)...and I was 90% positive that they were indeed P. crassicornis...but there was P. tetra and P. diversipilosa to rule out, and 90% certainty was NOT sitting well with me! So after poring over side-by-side pictures on numerous websites and crosschecking ranges and looking under my cheap little Carson microscope at some specimens...I can now say I have it whipped! Pheidole crassicornis it is thanks to the major works’ general glabrous exoskeleton!! When I finally get around to posting pictures on here, I will just go that route instead of taking so much time to knitpick an ID, as I imagine there are many of you on here far more adept than me at this line of WORK!

[T.C.]

Plot twist, its not Pheidole crassicornis.

[Jadeninja9]

Sounds like Dorymyrmex bicolor to me honestly

[Martialis]

Yeah? None of y'all can top my recent Formicidae sp. identification.

[Nylanderiavividula]

T.C. and Jadeninja, you fella's are cruel!  Hahaha.  I'm 99.9% positive of the ID and am unshakeable in the belief in myself as far as this particular ID goes. ;-P  I used a combination of actual specimens (of Pheidole crassicornis) under the microscope and comparisons on antmaps.org (for habitat ranges), antweb.org, antwiki, and an excellent guide for southeastern US species, https://mississippie...tml...alongsideother images from various sites found on google.  What did you find, Martialis?

[Jadeninja9]

Haha nice man