13 replies to this topic

[C Carl]

I’m a Research Associate working in Mississippi and my research focuses on different aspects of invasive ants. In the past we’ve worked on genetic tests to augment morphological keys for the separation of hybrid versus the pure forms of imported fire ants. Lately, I’ve been developing genetic assays to aid persons wanting to distinguish some of the native fire ants that might be confused with the imported species.  

 

To check the reliability of my tests, I need specimens of Solenopsis xyloni, S. aurea, S. amblychila and S. geminata collected from several different parts of their U.S. range.

 

If any of you have some of these ants that you could preserve in ethanol and ship to me, that would be particularly helpful for advancing this line of research. Ideally, I’d like to have a few of the larger workers included, as the morphological keys work best for them. Also since I'm using their DNA, they'll need to be fairly fresh.

If you think you could help me out, please message me and I’ll get you additional contact information. For those that send some of these ants, I'll provide you with plans for my custom mechanical aspirator. This one was designed for ants and works for many species.

 

Thanks!

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Edited by C Carl, August 19 2015 - 6:31 AM.

[AntsTexas]

i'm in west texas, i'll help if u want, s. invica r all over the place over here...

 

 

note: did not read it good, i'f i find them i can send them to u.

 

 

do u need queens?

Edited by AntsTexas, August 19 2015 - 8:40 AM.

[C Carl]

Thanks, AntsTexas.

 

I can get good DNA from queens, males (half the gene alleles) or workers. I just need a few larger workers to make sure we're keying them out properly. Yes, S. invicta are plentiful here, so I'm all set for those.

Edited by C Carl, August 19 2015 - 10:11 AM.

[AntsTexas]

cool, will let ya know if i find any

 

antstexas1@gmail.com

[Foogoo]

Whoa I don't know how I missed this thread. I mostly ignore Solenopsis but I'll keep an eye out from now on.

[C Carl]

Thanks, Foogoo. I can certainly use your help!

 

Cheers!

[William. T]

So, you can't use any of the tiny species? Not even the alates?

Edited by William. T, August 24 2015 - 5:30 PM.

[C Carl]

So, you can't use any of the tiny species? Not even the alates?

I have to limit myself to the larger species to keep things manageable for this project. So far, the variation within a single gene fragment looks to be great enough to pick out the 4 native species and separate them from the 2 non-natives and their hybrid. If I were to start including other species groups (e.g. thief ants), I'd likely get into trouble fast.

 

Thanks for your interest.

[BrittonLS]

Any suggestions how to distinguish imported and native, because it definitely confuses me, but I'd like to nab some for you if I can.

[C Carl]

Any suggestions how to distinguish imported and native, because it definitely confuses me, but I'd like to nab some for you if I can.

The Ft. Worth area probably has S. geminata. In a mature colony, you can distinguish them from Solenopsis invicta by the presence of larger majors that have significantly wider heads when compared to minors. The imported variety just has a more even size gradient w/o the bulldog-looking majors.

I'm not sure if you'll have access there for the other species. For the others, the characters will require a decent microscope.

 

Thanks for the reply and your help!              https://www.dropbox....L_EDIT.JPG?dl=0

Edited by C Carl, August 26 2015 - 11:43 AM.

[Foogoo]

 

Any suggestions how to distinguish imported and native, because it definitely confuses me, but I'd like to nab some for you if I can.

The Ft. Worth area probably has S. geminata. In a mature colony, you can distinguish them from Solenopsis invicta by the presence of larger majors that have significantly wider heads when compared to minors. The imported variety just has a more even size gradient w/o the bulldog-looking majors.

I'm not sure if you'll have access there for the other species. For the others, the characters will require a decent microscope.

 

Thanks for the reply and your help!

 

What about S. invicta vs. S. xyloni (or any other Solenopsis)? I know of a location with what I believe are S. invicta based on size and color, which I know is not reliable.

[C Carl]

I want to make it clear that I'm not a taxonomist, so we may need to enlist the help of an expert (is Dr. Trager out there?).

One of the stronger characters used is the presence/absence of teeth (spikes) on the edge of the clypeus. So we're looking at the portion of the head anterior to where the antennae insert.  You need to be looking at the larger majors for a reliable ID. Both S. invicta and S. xyloni have obvious lateral teeth. Additional teeth ( one or more) between those two should indicate you're looking at a S. invicta, as they're absent for the native species I'm looking for. There's also a process (bump), or subpeduncular tooth on the ventral side of the petiole, that is more developed for the native species and not in S. invicta. jargon jargon jargon...

 

I hope that is useful.

[Foogoo]

I should have clarified field recognition  . So from what it sounds like, they can all bear similar resemblance in the field so might as well catch what I can get and sort them out later?

[C Carl]

I should have clarified field recognition  . So from what it sounds like, they can all bear similar resemblance in the field so might as well catch what I can get and sort them out later?

Too much, eh?

S. xyloni has been extirpated from all my nearby states. So I don't know if there might be differences in how they structure their colonies or in their behavior, etc., that would make them readily distinguishable from red imported fire ant. I wish I could say there is a certain gestalt difference when eye-balling the specimens, but I haven't picked up on it.