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Southern California Anting


2450 replies to this topic

#1201 Offline TheCatalyst1 - Posted July 11 2018 - 2:41 PM

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I’m totally new to anting but was in Joshua Tree today. Lots of activity from P. Californicus and P. Rugosus. Found a colony of M. Mexicanus for the first time active during the day. It is raining now but I did not see any winged ants preparing for flights. This activity was still heavy from all species listed and a few I haven’t learned to recognize yet at 1pm. I live in Yucca Valley. I want to go out again a little later to see if any are preparing for flight. Any tips or anyone interested in tagging along are welcome. I’m very interested in Pogonomyrmex and Myrmecocystus. This is my first time using this system.
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#1202 Offline nurbs - Posted July 11 2018 - 6:52 PM

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I'm tired and pissed off that was the worst outing I've ever had

 

It's all timing.  You need to go when the doppler says there is rain in that spot, then check the rain guages in that spot later that day (use Wundermap). Wundermap unfortunately does not keep a record or history and deletes the amount of rain every day. So you have to constantly check everyday, take a screenshot, etc.

 

That spot where it says 1.96 inches is where I went to find everything that night. Tons of fragilis, honeypots, etc. Ground was wet down to about a foot. Everything flew.

 

Drew went to another spot that had 2 inches, but the environment didn't support a lot of fragilis or mexicanus. Both these like dense vegetation.

 

You have to make sure it is the FIRST TIME it has rained in that spot with 2 or more inches of rain. Because if it rained that much, and then the next day it rains again, it will flood away any chambers and you won't see anything. It's why I didn't go to Barstow.

 

Barstow got ample rain, but on the next day it poured again, meaning any chambers will have washed away. The secret is to keep a tab on where it has rained, and where it hasn't.

 

tusMN1el.jpg  


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Unidentified Myrmecocystus

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https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
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#1203 Offline AntsCalifornia - Posted July 11 2018 - 8:13 PM

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Don't know how reliable this map is, but it shows rain history.

https://www.iweather...urs-to-72-hours


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#1204 Offline Straywolf94 - Posted July 11 2018 - 9:24 PM

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Is that reading right? 25 inches of rain?

 

mX6GEwe.png

 

So not worth going out to spots that have less than 2 inches?



#1205 Offline nurbs - Posted July 11 2018 - 9:28 PM

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It is correct. Probably flooded. I too have a screenshot of that.

 

Nah, 1 inch can trigger flights, just not mexicanus.

 

Is that reading right? 25 inches of rain?

 

mX6GEwe.png

 

So not worth going out to spots that have less than 2 inches?


Instagram:
nurbsants
 
YouTube
 
California Ants for Sale

 

Unidentified Myrmecocystus

https://www.formicul...ls-near-desert/

 

Undescribed "Modoc"

https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
Bloodworm Soup
https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/


#1206 Offline Zeiss - Posted July 12 2018 - 4:30 PM

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Oh yeah, interesting thing Drew and I saw while on our last trip.  There were multiple HAZMAT vehicles driving around the Nipton area and down the 95.  Not sure what they were doing.  



#1207 Offline StopSpazzing - Posted July 12 2018 - 4:57 PM

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Oh yeah, interesting thing Drew and I saw while on our last trip.  There were multiple HAZMAT vehicles driving around the Nipton area and down the 95.  Not sure what they were doing.  

https://boingboing.n...-toxic-aba.html


> Ant Keeping Wiki is back up! Currently being migrated from old wiki. :)Looking to adopt out: Crematogaster sp. (Acrobat Ants) colonies

#1208 Offline Zeiss - Posted July 12 2018 - 5:02 PM

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That was in January though, I wouldn't think HAZMAT Response Units would be doing anything with it in July.  One of the trucks said ACT on it.



#1209 Offline nurbs - Posted July 12 2018 - 5:16 PM

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I use this. Good for one day up to a year. Great for spring fliers like Camponotus.

 

https://water.weathe...&domain=current

 

But with desert species for the monsoon flights, that kind of history is absolutely useless. You need to know the day of how many inches of rain, and then go the next day, or you'll miss finding the queens because 1) another rain or flashflood will wash away the chambers or 2) they have have dug too deep to find.

 

It is easiest to dig up queens the day of. Your chance of finding a queen on the second or third day drops considerably.

 

Don't know how reliable this map is, but it shows rain history.

https://www.iweather...urs-to-72-hours


Instagram:
nurbsants
 
YouTube
 
California Ants for Sale

 

Unidentified Myrmecocystus

https://www.formicul...ls-near-desert/

 

Undescribed "Modoc"

https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
Bloodworm Soup
https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/


#1210 Offline dspdrew - Posted July 12 2018 - 5:19 PM

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Is that reading right? 25 inches of rain?

 

mX6GEwe.png

 

So not worth going out to spots that have less than 2 inches?

 

No. Rain gauges on these amateur weather stations malfunction sometimes and give obviously inaccurate readings. If there are more stations in the area, you can usually tell if it's accurate by looking at the stations around it.



#1211 Offline nurbs - Posted July 12 2018 - 5:23 PM

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May head out to the desert again tonight. Going to check some spots that got heavy rain and didn't before.


Instagram:
nurbsants
 
YouTube
 
California Ants for Sale

 

Unidentified Myrmecocystus

https://www.formicul...ls-near-desert/

 

Undescribed "Modoc"

https://www.formicul...mp-ca-5-4-2017/

 

Camponotus or Colobopsis yogi:

https://www.formicul...a-ca-1-28-2018/

 
Camponotus us-ca02
https://www.formicul...onotus-us-ca02/

 

Unidentified Formica

https://www.formicul...l-ca-6-27-2020/

 
Pencil Case and Test Tube Formicariums
https://www.formicul...m-and-outworld/
 
Bloodworm Soup
https://www.formicul...bloodworm-soup/


#1212 Offline Zeiss - Posted July 13 2018 - 5:15 AM

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From the last trip taken by dspdrew and I, I had gotten a total of 35 Myrmecocystus cf. mimicus (looked like we saw two different species flying at the same time), 3 Pogonomyrmex rugosus, 1 Dorymyrmex bicolor (presuming, haven't checked it yet), 1 Pheidole xerophila, and 1 Forelius mccooki/pruinosis.  



#1213 Offline dspdrew - Posted July 13 2018 - 6:42 AM

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I'm going back out tonight since some of the spots that weren't wet enough when we went Wednesday received more rain. Also, the Pogonomyrmex tenuispinus spot got some rain Wednesday, so it's possible they might fly today. I think they might wait until a little later in the year though.



#1214 Offline Major - Posted July 13 2018 - 7:17 AM

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I have already marked the locations on my map; just look for the newest points added.
 
Most founding chambers of medium to large sized ants just look like the typical fan shape with a hole in the middle.
 gallery_2_120_7746.jpg
 gallery_2_172_33215.jpg
 
 
Or in the case of the strange Dolopomyrmex pilatus queens we found, Dorymyrmex, some Pheidole and many other creatures, little mounds of dirt.
 med_gallery_2_378_403413.jpg
 
 
A Dolopomyrmex pilatus queen very slowly and clumsily digging her founding chamber.
 

 med_gallery_2_378_902857.jpg
 
 
Almost stepped on this and inadvertently tested out my new rattlesnake boots.
 med_gallery_2_368_385120.jpg
 
 
All in all, we found 26 queens, one Pheidole sp., two Myrmecocystus testaceus, one Veromessor pergandei, and 22 Dolopomyrmex pilatus queens.
 
It was a pain to find founding chambers because we were there in the dark. Traffic was so horrible it took more than four hours to drive 100 miles.
 
After this we went through the mountains on the way back, but even though it poured rain there, we didn't see anything because it was just too cold.


For people that live in areas that don’t have deserts what do you recommend? I dig up founding chambers all the time but I’ve only ever found 1 queen by doing so. You guys caught 52 queens in one day! The most I have ever done is approximately 30. Flipping stones doesn’t work to well in my area.

#1215 Offline YsTheAnt - Posted July 13 2018 - 6:15 PM

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Any chance N. cockerelli will fly soon? Nipton might get some rain about a week or so from now.

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#1216 Offline Zeiss - Posted July 13 2018 - 6:18 PM

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Any chance N. cockerelli will fly soon? Nipton might get some rain about a week or so from now.

Possibly.  Where we went it seemed bone dry, so they either need a lot more rain, or have already flown.  They'll need to be collected during the night, before it gets light out.



#1217 Offline anttics - Posted July 17 2018 - 6:42 PM

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Oh no Novos will fly. I wish, I was there. Anyways Nurbs. Ill get those queens when I'm back.

#1218 Offline AntsCalifornia - Posted July 18 2018 - 8:29 PM

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If anybody sees a huge flight of honeypots, can you give me a heads up so I can dig them up in the morning?



#1219 Offline dspdrew - Posted July 21 2018 - 10:06 AM

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Zeiss and I went all the way up to Nipton, CA and ended up finding some Myrmecocystus queens that were flying during the day. They looked like M. mimicus, but they might have been more than one species. These were flying right along Nipton Road in a sort of dry lake bed where all the water in the area accumulates during storms, so it was very muddy there.

 

We drove back down the 15 for a few minutes to Bailey Road where I found one Myrmecocystus mexicanus queen and a few more of what looked like M. mimicus.

 

At one point we were driving on the Hwy 95 and went through a really intense storm that I thought was about to wash us off the road once the flash floods hit. Driving through some of the washes almost stopped my truck, but we made it through. There was almost nobody behind us after that so I think they all got stopped. Then CHP passed us heading to the spot with their lights on. Maybe someone in a little car was stupid enough to try to make it through the deepest wash.

 

That was pretty much it for that trip. I was hoping to find more, but it wasn't too bad.

 

Right after that trip some really good storms went through Goffs and Nipton again, so I went back out, alone that time.

 

The most rain was actually right on Goffs, so I drove their first. When I arrived in Fenner I found Goffs Road closed due to a train derailment in Ibis because of the storms. I was pretty pissed but remembered there was another road called Mountain Springs Road that lead into Goffs. I always thought it was a private road the previous times I was there, but realized later it wasn't. I thought for sure it would be closed too, but to my surprise it wasn't. I knew it was a pretty crappy road, and after the storms they just had, I wasn't sure what to expect, especially driving it at night. It actually wasn't bad at all. A few times I thought it was closed, but they were just barriers warning me about spots where the road was gone.

 

Here's some daytime pictures of the road where it was almost completely gone.

 

gallery_2_145_248472.jpg

 

gallery_2_145_4549061.jpg

 

gallery_2_145_2495572.jpg

 

 

Here you can see Goffs in the far distance.

 

gallery_2_145_418534.jpg

 

 

Zoomed in, you can see what a giant city Goffs is. :P

 

gallery_2_145_343686.jpg

 

 

Here I spotted the biggest lizard I've ever seen in the wild. It was sunbathing on top of that giant rock. I think it was either a Desert Iguana or a Chuckwalla. I tried to get better pictures, but I couldn't get very close to it before it ran away, only to return right back to its spot as soon as I would get back in my truck. Maybe someone who is more familiar with these can ID it.

 

gallery_2_145_1266166.jpg

 

gallery_2_145_3572395.jpg

 

 

This rabbit craps in weird places.

 

gallery_2_145_1227630.jpg

 

 

A train heading into Goffs.

 

gallery_2_145_167432.jpg

 

gallery_2_145_1454551.jpg

 

 

Here is Downtown Goffs. As you can see it's a pretty wild place. The night life here can get a bit crazy at times. :lol:

 

gallery_2_145_972135.jpg

 

 

My Predictions for mating flights were pretty good. While here I collected queens of Novomessor cockerelli, Myrmecocystus mexicanus, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, and Camponotus fragilis. All but the M. mexicanus were caught running around at night. Most of the M. mexicanus were dug from founding chambers the next day. I found most of them farther up in the hills along Mountain Springs Road.

 

gallery_2_145_1253779.jpg

 

 

After Goffs, I drove up to Nipton again. I went to Bailey Road again where I dug up a few more M. mexicanus queens, so it seems they might have flown again after more rain fell.

 

Later in the evening, at the same spot Zeiss and I found the Myrmecocystus, I found what I think are Pogonomyrmex maricopa flying. I stayed and collected them until a storm started moving in. There were storms all around me with an insane amount of lightning, so I was getting a little nervous.

 

This is a picture of Nipton Road right at sunset, just before all the storms started to form, mostly over the Las Vegas area.

 

gallery_2_145_2882970.jpg.

 

On the way back I drove directly through a couple of those storms and it was pretty scary. The lightning was directly over the top of me, coming down to the ground all around me.

 

I got a lot of queens, so it was a pretty good trip.


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#1220 Offline Zeiss - Posted July 21 2018 - 10:55 AM

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I'm surprised a train derailed, those tracks don't even look like they have a bend in them.






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